


Sombra's Midnight Star

by The_white_stone



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2019-10-12 12:12:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_white_stone/pseuds/The_white_stone
Summary: Twilight is on a mission. There are twelve missing ponies to find, dead or alive. But what she finds will destroy everything she believes in. The Equestria she knows is not all that it seems.





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my very first fan fic. Hope y'all will like it. Enjoy!

“Spa day! Spa day! Spa day with Cadence!” Pinkie Pie rambled excitedly as the train raced towards the Crystal Empire. Pinkie Pie and the rest of the main six were headed to the Crystal Empire to spend some quality time with Cadence and give her a well-deserved break from Flurry Heart. But Twilight was on the train for another reason. She, Spike, and Rainbow Dash had been summoned by Princess Celestia to investigate pony disappearances in the mountains behind the Crystal Empire.

Dash rolled her eyes at the pink pony’s antics. “Some of us, Pinkie,” Dash said, crossing her hooves, “are not going to have a spa day. No, we’re going to do something way cooler.” She grinned, her pride swelling at being able to serve her country. “Besides, what am I going to do at the spa? It’s not like I need it.”

“Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, but every pony needs a spa day,” interjected a highly offended Rarity. “Besides, it could do wonders for your mane. Am I right, Twilight? … Twilight? Twilight, darling, are you okay?”

Startled, Twilight jolted and looked around. “Are you talking to me, Rarity?” asked a confused Twilight. She didn’t even realize that she was on the train. Then, lost again in her musings, Twilight’s focus shifted to one singular thought, ‘ _What happened to the ponies?_ ’ Apparently, the disappearances had been terrorizing Equestria for three weeks. Twelve ponies had gone missing, four ponies per week. Where were they? Were they alright? “Twilight?”

Were they endangered? “Twilight?”

 And what dangers were looming? “Twilight?”

 How would she …. “TWILIGHT!!”

“What!?” Twilight jumped. She looked around at her concerned friends. Fluttershy sat up straighter in her seat, opening her mouth. “Sorry for yelling, Twilight, but we’ve been trying to get your attention for ten minutes now. Please, tell us what’s on your mind.” Twilight felt guilty for spacing out. In turn, she remorsefully looked each friend in the eye. Well, except for Applejack who was snoring the day away.

“Sorry, every pony,” she said meekly. “I was just thinking about all those missing ponies. What took them? From the reports, the ponies who disappeared all acted funny before they went into the mountains. So, there’s magic happening there. I just don’t know what kind of spell caused this. And Celestia is counting on me to find them and, and…” Feeling one of her friends’ wings on her shoulders, she stopped. She looked to her right. Rainbow Dash had a small smile on her face. “It’s going to be okay, Twilight. Everything is going to be okay. Breathe. Just breathe.” Dash gently coaxed her into a calmer state of mind. She really felt bad for the purple pony – bearing the responsibilities of an element of harmony and princess duties on top of that. She couldn’t fathom the stress Twilight was experiencing. “You know, Twilight, when I’m getting ready for a race, I get nervous. Yes, I know. The great Rainbow Dash, getting nervous? Impossible, right? But I do. When it happens, I just stop and tell myself to breathe. So, Twilight, take a big breath and just let it out.”

Twilight closed her eyes, “Okay.”

Inhale, exhale.

In and out.

“That’s it, Twilley, just breathe,” Dash encouraged. After three minutes of simply breathing, Twilight opened her eyes feeling much better. She turned to Dash and smiled. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I really needed that.” Dash returned her smile. “Hey, what are friends for?”

Twilight peered at Applejack, who was still causing a small ruckus with her snoring. Twilight glanced out the window and then back at Applejack. The purple pony pursed her lips and directed her eyes at her balloon cutie-marked friend. “Pinkie,” she said, “We’re almost at the Crystal Empire, right?” Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly. “Why certainly, Twilight, we are almost there! Why do you ask?” Pinkie tilted her head trying to figure out what her purple friend meant. Twilight sighed. “Well, you see, if we are almost there, we should wake up Applejack, right?” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, ma’am!”

“Oh, thank Celestia, finally we can shut her up!” Rainbow Dash yelled, not disturbing the surprisingly sound sleeper Applejack, “Her snoring has been hurting my ears.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity reprimanded, “that was not very nice. Besides, you are far worse than Applejack, if I may say so myself.” Rarity preened herself and gazed at her reflection in the window. Rainbow snapped her head toward Rarity, “Reeeally, Rare, is that true?” she seethed. “And how in the hell would you know? HMM, RARITY?! ARE YOU WATCHING ME WHEN I SLEEP?” Dash was boiling inside. ‘ _How dare she watch me sleep, that creep!_ ’ Rarity calmly turned to Dash and opined, “Well it’s quite hard not to watch or hear you sleep when you insist on taking naps in my bed. Or in my trees. Or in the clouds above my boutique. I swear, when I first heard you snore, I thought there was a thunderstorm looming. But I thought to myself, ‘ _That can’t be! There’s no rain scheduled today_.’ Then I saw you napping in my tree and waking all the poor animals around you. Applejack sounds like a soft lullaby compared to you.” Rainbow Dash’s jaw hit the floor.

“That’s true,” Pinkie chimed. Fluttershy shyly nodded her head in agreement. Applejack snored on. Dash started to sputter, “W-well you talk in your sleep, Rarity. And Fluttershy sleepwalks. And don’t get me started on Pinkie Pie.” Every pony started to yell at once.

“Why are you watching me sleep, Dash?”

“I don’t sleep walk.”

“What do you mean, ‘Don’t get me started on Pinkie Pie’? Well, Dashy, I’m going to show how to get started on Pinkie Pie!”

“GRAHHHHH SHOOOOOO, GRAAAAAAHHHHH SHOOOOOO!”

Twilight busted out laughing. Every pony stopped and looked at her. Then they looked at each other and joined in the laughter. When every pony caught their breath, Twilight looked at Pinkie and asked, “Do you have a blowhorn?” Pinkie just smiled and retrieved a blowhorn from her mane. She turned toward Applejack.

Brraaaahhhhhhhh!  

Applejack bolted from her seat, hitting the ceiling in the process. “What in tarnation was that?” Applejack yelled. “Who in Celestia’s good name did that?” But every pony’s laughter prevented her from getting an answer for about two minutes. When every pony calmed down, Pinkie ratted out Twilight, “It was her idea. I was just following her orders.”  Applejack looked at Twilight with hurt in her eyes, “You know, sugar cube, that wasn’t very nice. So, you better keep an eye open tonight.  I’ma comin’ for ya.”

Twilight gulped, “Yes, ma’am.” Applejack smirked.  The cabin door opened, and in walked Spike. He had been hiding in the next car, trying to get away from Applejack’s snoring. The poor dragon’s ears were still ringing from the noise. When he returned to the ponies to inform them that they had almost arrived, he saw that Applejack was awake. “Oh, thank Celestia!” Spike cried as he fell to his knees, “Applejack is awake! I can finally HEAR MYSELF THINK!!!” Applejack stared at Spike. “What in tarnation are y’all going on about?” she exclaimed. Fluttershy looked at Apple and softly said, “Well, you see, Applejack, when you sleep you snore really loudly. I’m sorry to say it, but you sound like a bear with cold.” Then she hid behind her wings. “I was thinking more along the lines of a dying walrus,” Dash interjected with her two cents. “What!” Applejack exclaimed. “I do not.”

“I feel positively awful for saying this, Applejack, but you do,” Rarity stated. “However, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. By the way, Applejack have you seen a doctor about your little problem?” Frustrated, Twilight yelled, “Guys stop it! This conversation is over. Are we clear?” Every pony murmured, “Yes, Twilight.”

“Now, Dash,” she said as she turned toward her friend, “tell me, what’s the plan? I want go over it again.” Dash nodded. “So, here’s the plan. I’ll fly up in the air and watch the known trails in the mountains while you and Spike look for magic residue on the on the ground. If I see a pony on the trail, I’ll go straight to you. That can only happen ‘cause of the spell Celestia cast when she gave us this mission. So, when I give you the location of the pony, we will poof…”

“Poof?” Pinkie interrupted.

“Yes, Pinkie, poof as in teleport.”

“Oh, okay, carry on.”

“Thank you,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Now, where was I? Oh yeah, we _teleport_ to the location of the pony and follow them to wherever the missing ponies are. Thank Celestia that Cadence decreed no pony is allowed to go hiking until this blows over.”

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “Now…”

“We’re here! We’re here!” Pinkie interrupted again.

“Pinkie!” yelled every pony.

“What?”

“Please, darling, stop interrupting?” Rarity requested. “It’s quite rude.” Every pony else nodded. Pinkie Pie looked at her feet. “Oh,” she mumbled, “Sorry every pony. It’s just that I see Cadence over at the train station! We’re going to have so much fun! First we’re going to…”

“We get it, Pinkie!” interrupted Rainbow Dash. Pinky Pie jumped into Rainbow Dash’s seat and retaliated, “Hey I was talking!” Dash bucked under the pink pony’s weight, “Pinky Pie, get off me. You’re heavy. What do you do all day, eat cake?” Pinkie regarded her friend’s question and nodded. Rarity huffed, “Now, Pinkie, would you please get off poor Rainbow Dash? How would you like it if she jumped on you, hmm? And we all know you do not like to be interrupted. So please for all our sanities stop this habit. It’s uncouth.” Pinkie scrambled off Dash while mumbling an apology. She didn’t quite appear contrite or remorseful, or even apologetic. She returned to her seat with a huff. Soon the wheels on the train screeched to a stop. Every pony got out of their seats.

                                                                                           Ω

Cadence was pacing back and forth on the platform, stressed both about the disappearances and Flurry Heart. Back and forth she stomped, stopping ever so often to see if the train was near.

Back and forth.

Stop. Look.

Back and forth.

Stop. Look.

“Your Highness,” said Flash Sentry, moving into her path. Cadence looked at him. “Flash,” she warned, “get of my way.” Flash responded, “Why?”

“Why? Why!? Because I said so. You need to get your brain examined if you don’t understand an order.” She moved around Flash Sentry. Flash fluffed his feathers in annoyance and turned back to the worried princess. “Your Highness,” he tried again. “What!?” Flash gained points for not flinching, but then again, he was used to Cadence’s mood swings. “Shining Armor charged me with the task of watching over you and protecting you. What he meant by that was that I’m to protect you with the physical and with the emotional. So, Your Majesty, I’m going need you to breathe.” Flash looked straight into her eyes. Cadence murmured a reply and stopped pacing. She relaxed her shoulders. In and out she breathed. Then she lost her progress when she heard the tell-tale screech of brakes on a train. “They’re here! They’re finally here!” Cadence danced around Flash as he rolled his eyes. “Yes, they are,” Flash said with a bored tone. “Your Highness, please contain yourself. This is not how a princess acts.”

“Oh, stop it, you just don’t want me to embarrass you in front of Twilley.” Cadence waved him off. Flash shook his head, exasperated. Sucking in a breath, he replied, “No, that’s not it. You keep shipping me with your sister-in-law. I’m merely trying to help you conduct yourself properly in front of every pony. I was assigned to you by Princess Celestia to teach you the way of the court. And, since I’m also under Shining Armor, I have a job to protect the kingdom. And, by extension, you. So, by helping with courtly behaviors, I am protecting you from others worrying you are unfit to rule.” Flash peered into her eyes, willing Cadence to understand the weight of his task. However, Cadence rolled her eyes and returned her focus to the stopped train.       

                                                                                            Ω

Twilight stepped off the train and immediately crumpled to the ground, feeling a heavy weight on top of her. When she looked above her, she saw Cadence. The pink alicorn was flapping her wings excitedly. “OSC! Twilight, you’re here!” Cadence rubbed her head on Twilight.

“Cadence, get off me,” said Twilight as she endeavored to buck Cadence off. “You’re too heavy. What have you’ve been eating? Haycakes?” At this Cadence started to laugh and removed her offending weight. “No, not haycakes, though I do blame the pregnancy for my eating habits. So, my little ladybug, how you’ve been?” Twilight returned her hooves to their proper place under her body and smiled at Cadence. “I’ve been well for the most part though tense about the disappearances. You, on the other hand, look like shit. What, is Flurry Heart giving you trouble?” Cadence glared. Twilight revealed a smug grin. Cadence took a deep breath. “Twilight,” she started, “the disappearances have taken a great toll on me. And it didn’t help that when I asked Celestia for help when the first pony disappeared, she just sat on her ass and did nothing! NOTHING, TWILIGHT! NOTHING! Sorry, I’m just so frustrated that it took twelve ponies disappearing to even do something. And she just sends you and your friends. Not that you aren’t helpful, but come on! Can’t she get off her pompous ass and do something?!”

Twilight slowly backed away from the infuriated alicorn. Cadence’s wings were fluttering aggressively, and her right eye was twitching. Twilight sighed. “Cadence,” she started, “you really need a break. Like, really bad.” Cadence snapped out of her bout of anger. “No, not me,” she said dryly, “I really don’t need a break. I’m perfectly fine with a screaming filly with wings and magic and disappearing ponies. But enough about me. Guess who’s with me! Come on, guess! No? Well, here it is. It’s Flash Sentry! Yeee!!”

“Yeah, I know. And?”

“And? AND?!?” screamed Cadence, “What do you mean, ‘AND?’” Twilight blinked. Cadence started to pace again. “I thought you liked him. Not ‘like him’ like a friend but ‘like him’ like a boyfriend.”

Back and forth.

“Cadence, you’re doing it again,” Twilight ground out. “And I said that I had a small crush on him. When I went in that alternate universe, chasing Sunset Shimmer, I met a pony there who had the same name as Flash Sentry. He was the one I had a crush on, not this universe’s pony. Got it?”

Back and forth.

“Cadence, did you hear me?”

Back and forth.

“Ugh!” yelled Twilight. “FLASH!”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” asked Flash. “How may I be of service to you?” Twilight turned towards the orange and blue pegasus and said, “Tell Cadence that I love her and to get rest and also goodbye. I’ll see her later. You got that?”

“You love her, get rest, and goodbye; you’ll see her later. Did I miss anything?” inquired Flash as he tipped his head to the side. Twilight pursed her lips, “Nope,” she stated, “I think that’s about it. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Your Highness.” Flash bowed. Then Twilight turned to the majority of the main six who were standing with their mouths open. Applejack, on the other hoof, was pulling luggage out of the train. She was grumbling about how the others were a bunch of lazy assholes. Twilight shook her head.

“Rainbow! SPIKE! Time to go.” She grabbed her pack and started to walk towards the trail. She heard a ‘Hell yeah!’ from Dash somewhere overhead. Twilight let a smile slip through. “Princess Twilight!” yelled Flash.

“Yes?” she said over her shoulder. Flash caught up to her and looked her in the eye, “Good luck.” “Thanks,” she replied. He nodded and turned back.

“So, the journey begins.”

                                                                                            Ω

The storm that blew on the mountain worsened with every flap of Dash’s wings. She tried to chase the clouds away, but the damn things were coming back bigger, blacker, and stronger. ‘ _If it gets any worse, I’m going to need ask Twilight for a weather spell to help dissipate these clouds. Oh, For Celestia’s sake, there’s lightning now. Now I’m going to have to fly around these damn things._ ’

Dash shook her head. At least she was wearing her Wonder Bolts uniform or else she would have been frozen solid before she got to the mountains. She scanned the infamous mountain trail that had devoured twelve ponies. But she saw nothing. Nothing but snow and rock. Nothing but snow and rock and … ‘ _Wait a minute, what is that? Is that?_ _No, it can’t be… there’s not supposed be any ponies on these trails. Where is that pony going? I’m going to follow._ ’

Dash flew closer to the pony. A lustrous grey coat glistened in the waning light as the pony trudged toward her unknown destination. Dash tried to get her attention for what seemed like hours. But Dash’s efforts were ignored. The pony kept on walking. Finally, she came upon a cave. Dash had never seen one like it. It looked the gaping mouth of a dragon. The pony stepped into its mouth, and a great flash of light suddenly appeared and enveloped the pony. Dash screeched to a halt, barely missing the light.

“I gotta tell Twilight!”

                                                                                           Ω

Twilight grumbled as she trudged through the snow. She had had these wings for months and she still couldn’t seem to make them work for her. If she knew how to fly properly, she wouldn’t be in the snow. ‘ _When this mission is over, I’m moving to the desert for the winter. It’s so cold!_ ’ she thought bitterly.

Twilight stopped in her tracks, waking Spike. She looked to the sky. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash heading toward her at breakneck speeds. Screaming, Twilight ducked. Dash crashed into the groaned, screaming, “TWILIGHT, YOU NEED TO FLY NOW! ANOTHER PONY DISAPPEARED!”

“What!” screeched Twilight, “Dash are you okay? What do you mean another pony disappeared?”

“I’m fine,” Dash said as she brushed the snow off her coat, “but there’s no time. I know where the ponies disappeared to. But we have to hurry. So, you need to fly now!”

“But… but…”

“No buts. Now, Twilight, now!” screeched Dash as she flared her wings.

“Okay. Okay, I get it!” Twilight yelled. She spread her wings. Spike grabbed her mane as Twilight launched into the air. THUD! Twilight landed face first into the snow. Shaking it off, she tried again. After several launch attempts and a few crashes here and there, the three of them finally made it to the cave. As Dash landed perfectly at the mouth of the cave, Twilight tumbled head over tail all the way to the teeth of cave. Twilight shook her head to clear the stars from her eyes.

“So, this is where they went?” Twilight asked. Dash shrugged. All the pegasus knew was that the pony had disappeared there. Twilight took a deep breath, “Okay, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Dash called out and reached for her friend, but she was too late. Twilight disappeared into the blinding light. The powerful blast knocked Spike into Dash. Twilight twisted around. “DASH! SPIKE!”

                                                                                         Ω

Everything went dark. Twilight attempted movement, but a giant weight had settled upon her. She pushed up on her front legs, wishing the weight was only Cadence’s playful childishness. Her legs buckled underneath her, and the weight refused to budge.

“Shhh. It’s okay.” A rich, deep voice softly tickled at her ear. “It’s alright, my little Star, everything is going to be all right. Sleep. And when you wake, everything will be clear.”

Twilight faded out of consciousness.

 


	2. In the Dark of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everybody! I just wanted to let you know this chapter is inspired by the Youtuber Inkpots, specifically the video in which King Sombra sings 'In the Dark of the Night' from the film Anastasia. It's a good movie if you haven't seen it yet. This upload acts as a transition to the second chapter. Hope you enjoy!

"IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT"

(Somewhere in the mountains behind the Crystal Empire. Right after the Battle for the Crystal Empire)

The music for IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT FROM ANISTASIA in an echoey cave. The loud music woke up an ancient being that has been asleep for over two hundred years.

“What is happening?” he griped as the instruments got louder, “Really guys? Can an alicorn get any sleep around here? NO? Ok? Fine! I’m coming down there right now!” He stomped his hooves as went down the stairs. He was hoping to alert the noise make of his coming so they would stop. But atlas, they didn’t hear him. No, they kept playing their infernal instruments like it was the end of the world. But for them, if he gets his hooves on them, it would be the end.

“What the…?” He said when he finally got to the bottom of the stairs. Wendigos playing and in the middle of the cave a lone unicorn singing:

‘In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning

And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be --

It scared me out of my wits --

A corpse falling to bits!

Then I opened my eyes

And the nightmare was...me!!’

He laughed, “well look’ey there. My clone finally returned in one piece. And he is actually singing. This could be fun.” 

‘I was once the most mystical man in all Equestria.

When the royals betrayed me they made a mistake!

My curse made each of them pay

But one little pony got away!

Little Twilight, beware,

King Sombra's awake!’

“Twilight? Who’s Twilight?” he asked to no one. “I wonder if he finished that mission that I created him to do?” he mused as he watch the clone dance and sing at the entrance of the cave.

[Wendigos]

‘In the dark of the night evil will find her

In the dark of the night just before dawn!

Aah...’

[King Sombra]

‘Revenge will be sweet’

[King Sombra and Wendigos]

‘When the curse is complete!’

[ALL]

‘In the dark of the night’

[King Sombra]

‘She'll be gone!

I can feel that my powers are slowly returning!

Tie my sash and a dash of cologne for that smell!

As the Pieces fall into place

I'll see her crawl into place!

Do Svidaniya, Twilight, Your Grace!

Farewell...’

“This girl must of did a number on him if he hates that much” he said as he walked towards the clone, “well it’s time to collect the memories and end this clone existence once and for all. It out lived its use.”

[Wendigos]

In the dark of the night terror will strike her!

[King Sombra]

‘Terror's the least I can do!’

It pointed at the sky with a maniacal grin.

[Wendigos]

In the dark of the night evil will brew.

Ooh!

[King Sombra]

Soon she will feel that her nightmares are real.

[ALL]

In the dark of the night

[King Sombra]

She'll be through!

[Wendigos]

In the dark of the night

Evil will find her

Find her!

Ooh!

In the dark of the night terror comes true.

Doom her!

[King Sombra]

My dear, here's a sign --

[King Sombra and Wendigos]

It's the end of the line!

[ALL]

In the dark of the night...

In the dark of the night...

In the dark of the night...’

The Wendigos dropped their instruments and flew towards the clone.

[King Sombra]

‘Come my minions,

Rise for your master,

Let your evil shine!

Find her now,

Yes, fly ever faster’

The Wendigos started to form a funnel. Rising higher and higher.

[ALL]

‘In the dark of the night...

In the dark of the night...

In the dark of the night...’

[King Sombra]

‘She'll be mine!’

“Nope”

POP! CUR SPLAT

“And he’s no more.” Sombra stated as he looked at the goop that was once a messed-up copy of him. he still could figure out how to make a perfect clone of himself to cross the barrier. They’re perfect outside, were he was, but the barrier distorts them. And on top of that they reek when they are destroyed. Imagine a that sewage and a rotting carcass had a baby. that is what it smells like. But Sombra was used to it by now.

“Now shoo. The lot of you. Get out of here!” Sombra said as chased the Wendigos off, “bunch of vultures. Well, goop, at least you were good for something. Even though you gave yourself a stupid title. You actually accomplished the task I created you for.” He said as he set the remains of the clone on fire.

“You found my Midnight Star!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! Please tell me how I'm doing. Have a great day!!!


	3. “I’m Telling You Reincarnation Is Real, Twilight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, that took a while. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the story continues! Hope you enjoy.

                            “I’m Telling You Reincarnation Is Real, Twilight!”

Boom!

"Ugh… Why does everything hurt?” groaned Dash. She tried to open her eyes to see what was happening around her, but all she saw was red. A thick, goopy, coppery-smelling red staining her sight.

‘ _Wait_ ,’ she thought, ‘ _Is that blood? I haven’t smelled that since going to the Factory._ ’ She tried to stand up on her hooves, but they crumbled underneath her, pain shooting through her body. Crying out, Dash fell to the ground. She managed to raise a hoof to wipe the blood off her eyes, but that simple act seemed to her the most difficult thing she’d ever attempted. Dash’s eyes widened at the destruction all around her. She was in the middle of a crater spanning 20 feet in all directions. All around her were soot and shiny white … stuff. Dash thought she saw a skull somewhere, but she dismissed the idea as preposterous. Cries were heard off in the distance. Still not knowing where she was, Dash thought, ‘ _Spike! Where’s Spike?! Twilight’s going to kill me if Spike is missing!_ ’

“Spike!” Dash croaked as she scanned the crater, but blood kept flowing into her eyes. Dash grew frustrated as the minutes passed.

“Why can’t I walk?!” Dash yelled to the wind. But no pony answered. Pain shot through the blue pony’s spine, causing her to cry out in agony. Dash called out to her only companion, the wind.

“Somebody please help me.”

                                                                                         Ω

The crystal sentries galloped toward the explosion. The whole southern sector was up in flames.  Civilians ponies were running from the danger. No pony knew what was going on. It was utter chaos. A crater had replaced the once-thriving sector. Houses, gone. Parks, gone. Families, gone. Ponies, gone.

“What is that?!” a sentry yelled.

“Heck if I know!” yelled another.

“Is it a monster?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Then what is it?”

“Something’s over here!”

"There’s another one?”

“That’s what I said!”

“Somepony get down there now!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Hey, these are alive! Get the paramedics over here, now!”

                                                                                             Ω

A song played in the background of Twilight’s dreams. Each note brought peace to her troubled mind. Though she didn’t know the words or the language, Twilight could have sworn she had heard it before. The voice, on the other hoof, she didn’t recognize, but she didn’t want him to stop. His voice was richer than a fine dark chocolate, smoother than glass, and deeper than the ocean. Twilight swore she could listen him all day.

‘ _Wait, it’s a him, right? Not Fluttershy singing bass?_ ’ Twilight thought. The singing stopped. ‘ _No, no, no, keep singing, please!_ ’ she begged in her mind. Chuckling, the voice continued. Feathers brushed her chest. Then a muzzle nuzzled her neck as the feathers continued to glide over her chest. It started to tickle. The voice stopped singing. Twilight didn’t like that.

“Twilight,” the voice said, the body it belonged to nuzzling her neck. “Twilight, love, it’s time to wake up.” She shook her head and turned. “No, don’t do that, love. Now wake up.” The sheet was suddenly gone. Cold air penetrated Twilight’s once-warm cocoon. Twilight shot straight up, yelling, “Fine, jack-o-lantern! Wait, what?” Confused, she looked around and found herself in an unfamiliar place. This was not her room, nor her library. The room Twilight found herself in was in equal parts ginormous and unlike anything she had ever seen. All around her was black, with walls that seemed to have no ceiling. But, then again, it might have been the canopy blocking her view. A mural was painted on the canopy. It depicted a story. In the middle was a beautiful silver alicorn surrounded by smaller alicorns, earth ponies, pegasus, and unicorns. And all ponies were giving something from their element to this silver alicorn. The earth ponies presented her with fruits of the earth. The unicorns gifted their magic. Pegasus gave the fruits of the sky. And the alicorns, well, Twilight didn’t know what they gave. It looked like some variety of crystals. Twilight noticed that behind the silver alicorn was the Tree of Harmony.

 ‘ _What is this?!_ ’ she thought. ‘ _This can’t be right! The Tree’s not supposed to be here!_ ’ But, as she thought this, red magic enveloped her and lifted her up along with the remaining covers. Twilight took some time to look around the room thinking, ‘ _Well, if I’m in the air, I might as well see where I am._ ’ The floor was polished black marble, shot through with red and silver bolts of frozen lightning. A rug made of fur from an animal she couldn’t identify was on the floor in front of her.  The grey fur had red polka dots. Twilight was pulled toward a pure white couch. A fireplace with a blazing fire roaring inside stood right by the couch. The sofa was of such a pure white that the flames reflected off the couch and blinded her for a second. Gently, the red magic set her down on the snow-colored couch, wrapping her in a blanket. Finally, her warm cocoon had returned. Twilight snuggled back in. Noticing the blanket wasn’t quite right, Twilight started to use her magic to fix it. She jumped when she heard someone chuckle.

“Who’s there?” Twilight asked, startled.

“Shh, love, no need to shout,” the voice said with a hint of a grin, “you’re safe here.” The grin was the first thing Twilight could make out from the darkness, and then an obsidian hoof. And, out of the darkness appeared one of her greatest nightmares, and she fell off the couch.

“K-King S-Sombra!”

                                                                                             Ω

Finally, after 3000 years, he had found her. Granted, she looked different than she had the last time he had seen her, but that didn’t matter. He would finally hold her in his arms once more. Right after the fear in his beloved’s eyes dissipated.

“K-King S-Sombra!” she squeaked, “you’re supposed to be dead! How are you still alive?” She was clambering up the couch but kept slipping to the floor. Sighing, Sombra used his magic to lift the poor thing and set her gently back on the couch. He wrapped her snugly in the blanket, casting a calming spell on its fabric. It seemed to work. She stopped trying to escape and regained her composure. She held his gaze, with those beautiful amethyst eyes revealing so many questions that he couldn’t keep track of them all. She then asked, “How are you still alive? I saw you turn into smoke after the Crystal Heart was restored.”

Sombra sheepishly remembered that he had once again destroyed one of his clones. At least that clone wasn’t a total failure, as it had been the one to find his beloved’s reincarnation. “Well you see, Twilight,  that was a just a clone. There have been many, and their purpose was to find the reincarnation of my soulmate Midnight Star and bring her back to me. However, every time I sent out a clone, it became corrupted by the barrier which She erected all around Equestria. But this time one of those infernal things was finally up to the task. It found you.”

“Me?” Shocked, the pony pointed to herself. “Why me? I’m nothing special, except for being the Princess of Friendship. But I wasn’t back then.”

“Yes, you, my dear. You’re the reincar… Wait, Princess of What?” asked Sombra, “Princess of Friendship? How can somepony be a princess of an abstract idea? Who appointed you that ridiculous title?”

“Oh, Princess Celestia, of course,” his beloved stated matter-of-factly. Sombra’s blood turned to ice at the mention of her name. He barely heard Twilight speaking over the blood rushing to his ears, but parts of her rant were louder than most. “… and it’s not a ridiculous title! For your information, friendship is power.” She huffed as she turned away and sassed, “So, what were you going to say before you insulted my title, hmm, KING Sombra?” The creature considered the difference in their powers. He could wrap his wing around her, and she’d disappear from the world. Come to think of it, that was starting to sound like it wasn’t a half-bad idea. However, she had asked a question, and it was only fair of him to answer it.

“Sweet Harmony, give me patience. As I was saying: You, Twilight, are the reincarnation of Midnight Star.”

“Say what now?”

                                                                                                  Ω

Did she hear him right? Did he really just say that? He must have been batshit crazy.

“Did I just hear you say that I’m the reincarnation of Midnight Star? Who so happens to be your soulmate? How the hay would you know a thing like that?” Twilight asked suspiciously. She stared into his ruby red eyes to catch him in a lie.  Oh, how she needed him to be lying. If he was lying, then all she had been taught would remain true. And Princess Celestia, her mentor, couldn’t have lied to her, couldn’t have betrayed her trust. So long as Princess Celestia was not a liar, all of Equestria was safe and all was well.

“How do I know, you ask?” he posed in his deep sultry voice. “I know because of your eyes.”

“My eyes? What about my eyes?” she asked. ‘ _Great, this guy should be in the loony bin_ ’ she thought as she studied him some more.

However, the more she studied him, the less things added up. The first thing she noticed was that the helmet he had always worn was nowhere to be found. She could see his face. He had white patch on his nose amid his obsidian fur. While she was at it, whereas the Sombra she knew had a grey body and a black mane, the black of this creature’s fur was only interrupted by his white-patched nose and the ends of his mane. They looked like they were dipped in the blood of innocents. And, his horn wasn’t curved but appeared as a spiraling piece of obsidian glass. He also had a strange, metallic design on his shoulders. “Wait a minute!” Twilight exclaimed, “You have WINGS! How do you have wings?!”

“Oh, these things?” he asked, lifting one up. “As far as I know, I’ve always had them.” The wing was massive. It stretched all the way to the fireplace and barely touched the fire within. From where he was sitting, that was about nine paces, give or take. The tips of his feathered wing were red, as well. He was an alicorn! But only Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Flurry Heart, and Twilight were alicorns, or so she thought.  But there he sat, a male alicorn.

“Twilight.”

A male alicorn. How could it be?

“Twilight, love…”

This couldn’t be true. Princess Celestia herself had said there were none left.

“My love, are you alright?”

Could her beloved mentor have been lying this whole time?

“No, not again! Twilight! Come back!”

No, her princess wouldn’t do that. Princess Celestia wouldn’t lie to her.

“Twilight my love, come back to me! Don’t withdraw into your mind!”

This was a dream. Yes! A dream! And she would wake up at her library, in her bed, surrounded by her books. And Spike would run into her bedroom saying that Princess Celestia…

Warmth surrounded her as downy feathers brushed her fur. Obsidian legs encased her own legs and body as the alicorn she had known to be an enemy brought her to a soft surface. Something heavy settled on her head and purred into her ear. Her anxiety eased into a calm peace. But now she faced a different problem. Twilight was becoming hot, and she feared she would become crisp like bread dough baking into a pastry in an oven. She tried to move, but those obsidian legs wouldn’t release her. The purring increased. That purring was going to turn her into jelly if she wasn’t careful. She just knew it.

“Are you feeling better now?” asked the purring mass. She wriggled some more.

“Yes,” she said through rivers of sweat. “Please, get off me. You are like a walking oven, just so you know.” King Sombra finally got off her, but he left one of his wings covering her. She looked at his wing. Then she looked at him. Looked at his wing. Looked at him.

“No, I’m not removing it. You’ll also note I’ve forbidden your cussing. You have quite the mouth.”

“And what gave you the right?” she countered. Her train of thought huffed, ‘ _Who does he think he is! Taking away my ability to cuss. I can talk however I want._ ’ She tried to shake off the alicorn’s wing, but he put it right back on top of her. After the fifth time she tried to push it away, King Sombra just pulled her close to his side with his wing and wouldn’t budge. 

“I’m not getting into this argument with you again, my love.” He sighed.

“Excuse me?” she yelled, “Again? This is the first time we’ve had this discussion. And if it’s because of reincarnation then I am calling B.S. And by Celestia, get off me!” She bucked. This was her last-ditch effort to remove him. And by Celestia’s mane, he got up. King Sombra quickly turned around and pinned her on her back to the sofa, his red eyes flashing and magic rising in his horn. Twilight didn’t notice this before, but his eyes didn’t have green around the iris, nor did purple smoke come out of his eyes. Black magic wasn’t present in his eyes at all. The red magic pulled her front legs above her head. He brought his face close to hers.

“Twilight, pay attention to what I am about to tell you.” He commanded this as his breath broke upon her face. “I’m telling you reincarnation is real, Twilight! And you’re living proof. How do I know this? Your eyes. Your eyes are the same from one incarnation to the next.

“Oh, and I suggest you cease and desist in calling me King. That is a grave insult. I am an alicorn. And not just any alicorn. No, I am the first! The first alicorn Harmony ever created. The first being to walk the land. To call me King would be spitting in her face and in all she stood for! So, don’t you dare call me a king!

“Finally, don’t ever again speak that traitor’s name in my presence.”

Fear laced its way into Twilight’s bones. Not only was she pinned under an alicorn’s weight, he was furious with her. Fear was her name now.  She shut her eyes, hoping he couldn’t hear her heart galloping away from her chest. ‘ _Please don’t kill me_ ,’ she thought as she waited for the final blow. But it never came. Instead, she felt something nuzzling at her neck. She slowly opened her eyes and saw King- err no, Sombra’s face buried into her neck. She started to squirm when he began kissing her neck.  It felt strange and somehow right all at once. Like she had experienced this before.

“hey, K… I mean Sombra?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Uhh…”

“If you don’t know, then could you please get off me? You’re really heavy!” She tried bucking him off again, but he wouldn’t budge. She would take the wing any day over this. “Are you purring? I didn’t know ponies could purr.”

“The purring, as you call it, is only affiliated with a male alicorn when he is either: courting his mate, preparing said mate, or calming and/or comforting his mate. And right now, before you ask, I am calming you down. Your heart rate was erratic. I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen. And your heart rate still hasn’t returned to its normal pulse. So, to answer your next question, no, I will not ‘get off’ you. You are still in no shape to walk around right now.”

She glared at the pony. “Bull dung!” she exclaimed. She really missed her cuss words. “The only reason my heart rate is elevated is because you’re on top of me! How do I know you’re not going to kill and eat me?” He laughed. She was being serious, and he laughed in her face. How inconsiderate of him. His red eyes twinkled.

“Sweetheart, I’m not going to eat you, at least not in the way you’re thinking. But saying that you’re not in shape to walk around was merely an excuse. The truth is that I like being on top of you.” He revealed a toothy smirk, and Twilight noticed that all of his teeth were sharp as daggers. That familiar feeling of fear came creeping back up. Blood was rushing in her ears as she heard Sombra say, “However, I can see your point of view. A stranger claiming that you are his reincarnated soulmate suddenly jumps on top of you. I don’t blame you for freaking out. But, what I cannot understand is this. The first thing to pop into that beautiful head of yours was not rape but cannibalism. Why? Why did you think I would eat you?”

“Uhh… I-I don’t know,” Twilight stammered as she looked into his eyes. “It was the first thing to pop into my head, and I said it. Rape didn’t occur to me. But, now that you’ve said it, are you going to rape me – then kill and eat me?”

Sombra looked appalled that she would say that. “There is no way in Tartarus I would ever do such a foul thing! I would never rape you, nor kill you! Why in sweet Harmony’s name would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “evil, diabolical plan, maybe?”

“Sweet Harmony, give me patience,” he mumbled into her shoulder. He really seemed to enjoy putting his head there.

“Hey, Sombra?” she asked,” Who’s Harmony?”

“Having a conversation with you is giving me a headache,” he grumbled. “Did you see the mural on the bed over there?” She nodded. “Well the alicorn in the middle is Harmony as she walked the land. Harmony is the creator and sole provider of Equestria. And the Tree of Harmony is what her body became after she let her spirit go into the Void to manage the Void and rule Equestria from that side. When she gave up her spirit, she gave the ponies and the alicorns a chance to find their own paths.”

“But what about the Elements of Harmony?” she asked. “I’m the element of magic.”

“The Elements of Harmony,” he started, “are each aspects of Harmony’s magic and personality. And I believe the reason that you are an element is because you are on your seventh reincarnation, which is unheard of, considering all ponies reincarnate six times. After the sixth incarnation, their spirits return to the Void to be recycled and turned into creator souls. A creator soul is a soul that has not been reincarnated. These souls are rare now and very powerful, but there are some out there.”

“How do you know that I’m on my seventh incarnation, not my second or fourth?”

He smiled. “How do I know? Well, I can see your soul and that every aspect of the six-sided soul crystal, which every pony has, is glowing. This means your previous reincarnation should have been your last. If you died right now, your soul would be recycled. Rest assured, though. I will never let you die again. I can’t go through that again.”

“You saw me die?”

“Yes, I did. And I need you to remember me. To remember us. You will remember us,” he said with sadness and determination in his voice. His red eyes glistened with unshed tears. He closed his eyes to prevent their escape.  Twilight felt a bizarre urge to comfort him, but she didn’t what to say and couldn’t physically move to console him because he had her hooves pinned down.

“Sorry.” She barely heard him. He opened his eyes.  Determination again flooded his eyes like water through a dam. With a quivering voice she asked him, “How are you going to make me remember?”

“A spell!” he answered with a grin. “A spell by Harmony’s design that will take you back to your first reincarnation. You will relive your life as Midnight Star from the week we met until her death. And when you come back, you will remember everything. You’ll remember what we shared, that our minds were one. Because you are my soulmate, you will also receive my memories. This is the only way. It won’t hurt.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know you’re not projecting memories onto me?!” she panicked. The walls were closing in. Sombra was getting heavier. She was trapped! She had to get out!

“Shh it’s alright, love. No one’s going to hurt you,” he whispered in her ear. The purring increased in tempo, causing her bones to melt into jello, “You are safe here. It’s okay. Sleep and remember.”

Red magic flashed into her eyes, causing them to droop closed. A song started to play as images flashed before her eyes. Twilight fell asleep and started to remember.

                                                                                          Ω 

Sombra eased off of his beloved. He used his magic to pick her up and set her down on the bed. He covered her in the blankets and crawled into bed next to her. Sombra curled himself around his love as the spell worked its magic on her. As he lay there, listening to her even breaths, he studied Twilight. The visual difference he found was Twilight’s purple fur and the magenta streak in her mane. Midnight had oceanic blue with a light blue steak. He smiled and cuddled closer to her. She was a little different, but she was Midnight Star through and through. And he was never going to let her out of his sight again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't that fun? Well, the good news is I'm working on the next chapters, so they should be up soon. Please leave a positive comment down below. It's a nice little boost to my non-existent self-esteem. Have a fantastic day!


	4. Once upon my Midwinter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song in this chapter is 'Once upon a December' from Anastasia. I changed some of the words to fit my story. Hope you like it. Enjoy

‘Dancing bears,  
Painted wings,  
Things you almost remember…’

The ghost of a green and blue unicorn raced across Twilight’s vision, laughing at someone behind her.  
“Do I know her?” whispered Twilight as it floated into the gray mist.  
Another unicorn, this time pink and yellow, was dancing in a ballroom. 

‘And a song  
Someone sings,  
Once upon my Midwinter’ “Who’s singing?”  
The vision changed. Fire raged in the forest as ponies ran.  
Wendigos chasing frightened ponies, picking them off one by one.  
A unicorn with Twilight’s eyes, frozen to death. 

‘Someone holds you safe and warm;  
Alicorns prances through a silver storm.  
Figures dancing gracefully across your memories.  
Ah’

A scream cut through the song.  
Pain sliced into Twilight’s side, and a knife was revealed in her vision.  
A mare, with those same eyes, lay dying on the ground. Snow-white hooves fled the scene.

‘Someone holds you safe and warm;  
Alicorns prance through a silver storm.  
Figures dancing gracefully across your memories.’

Twilight felt fire going down her throat as she heard Celestia’s voice saying,  
“This is the only way. I’m sorry, little one, but I cannot let you live. You will bring Him here. Now drink!”

‘Far away,  
Long ago,  
Glowing dim as an ember…’

A yellow unicorn was reading a book in her library, using her violet magic. She had the same eyes.  
Luna and Celestia arguing over the unicorn’s dead body.  
Luna burying the body. Celestia storming off. 

‘Things your heart  
Used to know’

Sombra dancing with a mare who had a navy blue coat. Again, Twilight saw her own eyes.  
Sombra whispered sweet nothings in her ear. It looked like they were happy.  
Pain laced through Twilight’s lower regions. She felt violated, dirty, unfit for the public eyes.  
She cried out for help, but none came until it was too late.  
She saw the tips of Princess Celestia’s rainbow mane as cuts and crimson blossomed all over her skin.  
Sombra’s red eyes filled with tears as her vision went black. 

‘Things it yearns to remember.  
And a song someone sings,  
Once upon my Midwinter ’ 

“Midnight! You’re going to be late! Wake up!”  
Oh Sh…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave positive comment down below.


	5. Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me awhile but I finally finished it. Enjoy.

                                                                                                                    Remember

(Present: Crystal Kingdom)

Fluttershy flew to the infirmary. She couldn’t get there fast enough. The others were hot on her heels. Spike and Rainbow Dash were found at the bottom of the crater that suddenly appeared. Spike was barely recognizable, half of his dragon body a charred mess. On the other hoof, Dash was not. When she was found, she was a pile of a bloody, breathing, bony flesh. The only thing that was recognizable was her lightning bolt cutie mark, and that was after the paramedics cleaned up the blood. Unfortunately, Dash and Spike were the only survivors found at the scene. At least that’s what Fluttershy heard.

Fluttershy, with her wings flapping at high speed, flew though the hospital’s doors, nearly crashing into a poor nurse. “Sorry,” she whisper-yelled at the nurse whom she nearly ran over. _But you didn’t have to say those things_ , she thought as she finally made it to Dash’s room. Rarity was already there.

Fluttershy flew straight into the wall. “Fluttershy! Oh, dear, are you alright?” Rarity exclaimed as she ran to her fallen friend.

“Yeah. I’m alright, Rarity,” Fluttershy answered as Rarity helped her up from the ground. “How is Rainbow Dash doing? I’ve already seen Spike. He’s already walking around asking for Twilight. What are we going to tell him?” “The truth, darling, that Twilight is missing,” Rarity answered softly. “As for Dash, well, have a look for yourself.” Rarity stepped out of Fluttershy’s view.  A mummy lay on the bed with blood stains all over its coverings.

“Is she alive?” Fluttershy murmured as she stared at the unmoving mass.

“Fortunately, she is,” the white unicorn answered the yellow pegasus. “The good news is that Princess Celestia is coming. And she has a spell to help Rainbow Dash.” “That’s good,” whispered Fluttershy with tears in her eyes. “Princess Celestia will heal her.”

“Yes, yes she will.”

                                                                                                                    Ω

(Past, about 3000 years ago, give or take a decade. I don’t know - their calendar is weird)

ΩMIDNIGHT STARΩ

_‘I’M LATE!’_

The cobblestone clacked as I raced down the street. The word _late_ rang through my head as I crashed through the busy streets of Harmonia. ‘ _I’m going to be transferred for sure!’_ This was going to be… what, the third time this week that I had been late? A’stavera did not like tardiness, and I had already been late three times this week! Why, oh why did I have to live all the way across town? This job was going to be the death of me. Jeez!

I huffed and puffed all the way down Mane Street. I yelled hi to the baker. Man, he was a great earth pony, too bad the Alicorns pretty much hated him. Well not him specifically, but earth ponies in general. Even though Harmony said everyone was made equally and treated us that way, the general Alicorn population thought earth ponies were no better than bugs. I was lucky that I was born a unicorn. At least we unicorns have magic and are treated like servants instead of cattle like the pegasi.

A scream pierced the air. I looked up and saw a pegasus flying as fast as she could as two Alicorns chased her through the sky. Their magic looked ready to kill. I went back to running. ‘ _There’s nothing to see here. Just a normal day in Harmonia.’_ Damn it! Why did they make her land here of all places? ‘ _Happy thoughts, Midnight. Think happy thoughts, you can do this.’_ Oh god!

The poor green pegasus screamed, “I was only trying to provide for my family. Please have mercy!” She tried to wriggle her way out from underneath the grey Alicorn’s foot.  The grey one just laughed. “Well then, little sheep, you shouldn’t have stolen those apples. Am I right, Jorno?” he said as he looked at his partner. Jorno just smiled, showing his dagger-like teeth. His dark blue coat glistened in the sunlight as he circled the trembling pegasus. Oh, how the Alicorns liked their games. Why did Harmony make these things again?

“I think you’re right, Zac’n,” Jorno replied. “What punishment shall we give this wayward sheep, hm?”

“Well,” Zac’n answered, “since she stole from us, I think the punishment should be her wings!” At this the green pegasus renewed her efforts to get away. For what is a pegasus without her wings? Dirt. No better than an earth pony. An outcast. The Alicorns just laughed at her plight.

“What a great idea, Zac’n!” Jorno said (he seemed to get off on this stuff), “let’s take her wings! I mean, it’s only fair right?”

“Right!”

“NO, PLEASE! HARMONYPLEASEHELPME! MAKETHEMSTOP!” she screamed to the heavens in hopes the Creator would hear her plea. But no pony answered. And no pony came. ‘ _This is why I hate coming to the main street. I run into Alicorns asserting their dominance on us lesser beings. At least no one died today. Unless I’m late to that, too.’_

The Alicorns’ horns flashed, their magic coming to light. A force field surrounded them and the pegasus so that her blood wouldn’t splatter all over the place. Yeah, they were courteous like that. Grey and blue magic grabbed hold of her wings as the Alicorns backed away from her. They made eye contact with each other and smiled. Then they started to pull. Her tortured screams, I’d swear, could be heard all the way to Neptune’s lake. And that’s five leagues in the opposite direction. Slowly her wings were rent from her body. Rivers of red stained green fur. Slowly, the white of bone was exposed to the elements. ‘Til finally…

Crack!

The pegasus’s bones snapped in two. Ripping the wings off her body, the Alicorns grinned evilly.  Blood painted the cobblestones as the once proud pegasus wept for her lost wings. To add insult to injury, the Alicorns kicked her to the ground, bathing her in her own blood. Laughing, they waved her wings about like flags, yelling at an earth pony to clean up the mess. I would have moved around this mess. However, when the Alicorns wanted to teach a lesson, usually with ether a pegasus or an earth pony, but fortunately not a unicorn (how else were they going to keep their fancy palace clean?), everyone was required to watch. And I mean everyone. Or everyone got punished. Better one pony’s wings than all ponies’ lives.

If Harmony was here, it would be a different story. But she wasn’t here. ‘ _And now I’m later than before_.’  Great. Just great.  Now I was screwed up a tree and twice as fucked.  So, I started running. Again. 

After dodging traffic and weaving through carts, I finally made it to A’stavera’s outlandish home. And this place was by far the most ridiculous place I had ever seen. Considering I’d been to two others, that was saying something. So, to start off, the place rose to five floors. And the windows were placed randomly. For example, one of the windows was carelessly tossed in-between floors. I could see the actual floor of one story and the ceiling of the one above. And whole place was a lewd, garish pink! Not a calming pink. Oh, no. This horrid color was the definition of an in-your-face-detestable-I-am-Pink kind of pink which could cause bile to rise up in your throat.  And the inside was a freaking labyrinth! And this insanity from one of the Alicorns of Order! What the hay! I had to have a map the first time I got here. After three flights of stairs going up and down, forty-four twist and turns, and a freaking riddle I had to solve, I finally made it to A’stavera’s chambers. Goody.

Exasperated, I huffed and puffed as I pushed the heavy oak door open, praying to Harmony that the “orderly” Alicorn was still asleep. Well, I guess not. Aw, sh…

“YOU’RE LATE!”

                                                                                                                  Ω

ΩSOMBRAΩ

“You could, I don’t know, socialize more?”

I slammed the feather pen down on the oaken desk at which I was working. I blew a red strand of hair out of my face as I turned towards the most infuriating, most bothersome, *sigh* most lovable, and kindest being in all of Harmonia.

“Well, hello to you, Harmony,” I snapped back as I searched for the pen which had fallen onto the floor. Why did they do that? It’s not like this was one of those ball-point pens that those bipeds used in other dimensions. So annoying.

“Harrumph,” she answered back, “tell me again why you decide to sequester yourself within your chambers all day and not socialize?” she asked as she trotted around my study. Her silvery coat flashed purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white - just these colors, nothing else.

“Did you notice you just answered your own question,” I countered feeling smug. With her, that feeling never lasted long. Harmony had the special gift of making the proud very humble very quickly.

“Really, my little pony?” She raised her eyebrow. “How so?”

“Socializing,” I enunciated each syllable. “I don’t socialize. Those alicorns you made really burned it out of me. ‘Oh, look at me, I’m a pretty little pony! Watch me prance!’ ‘Oh, look at my wings! Aren’t they gorgeous? I’m better than you are so I’m allowed to make your life miserable,’” I sung, mocking the stupid alicorns as I fluttered around my beautiful study, making a full circuit around Harmony. When I was finished, I just stared at her.

“Well they aren’t fulfilling their role, are they?” Harmony asked. “They are not acting the servants I envisioned them to be, and they are not serving my children. I know this, and their time is coming, but that time is not today.”

“I’m an alicorn,” I started to say but rethought my words when Harmony lifted up one of her four wings.

“Sombra, you are my first creation, my son, and I made this world for you, so you wouldn’t be lonely. I created the unicorns for you to teach the ways of magic. I made the pegasi with which you could soar the skies. And the earth ponies are yours to protect and nourish. And you can’t do any of that when you are stuck in your study day and night, all alone! And don’t you dare give me that face, young stallion! I am still your mother!” “What face?” I asked, bewildered. I could swear, this woman spiraled further into insanity by the day!

“That look you get when you think I’m loopier than the knots on my ceremonial dress. Yes, I’m batcrap crazy. And no, I don’t care. I get to say whatever I want! I’m old, thank you very much.” She stated this as she gave me The Look.

“Batcrap crazy?”

“Shut up. I can say whatever I want!”

I just smiled. She was always like this. Coming into my study, nagging about how I should socialize more, and then treating me to lunch. And after that she’d leave me alone the rest of the day.  And now I just had to wait it out. Sweet alone time, here I come!

“So, I got some news for you!” she sang in her ‘I know you’re not going to like this voice.’ And believe me, she’s used this voice a lot. But I love her. She was the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, considering that she created me and that, if some pony asked her, she’d say I was a grumpy teenager. Whatever that meant.

“And pray tell, what is this news?” I humored her, knowing that if I didn’t, she’d wait for me to relent and ask her what she knew anyway. Of course, she would tell me anyway, but it would take a long time. And if there was information out there or news that I hadn’t heard, then I needed to hear it. Or Crazy Town would welcome a new inhabitant. “The suspense is killing me,” I deadpanned.

“Well, looky there, some pony thinks he’s all grown up since his 300th birthday. What sarcasm! I’m so proud!” she smiled. “Well, anyways, you know about the unicorn assistants, right? Right. And how you insist on not having one. Well, as of tonight you do! Don’t you dare give me that face. I expect you to treat her with all the respect you give me. Well, more than the respect you give me. Because she is the half of your soul.”

“What? What do you mean by that?” I screamed. She’d never told me that I only had a half a soul. For three hundred years I only possessed half my soul? I was never complete? I thought that I was her perfect creation! What the Hades?

“Sombra, sweetie, it means that you’ll be the first alicorn to be able to reproduce and have children,” she calmly stated, “And I created everyone with a split soul so they can find their soulmate, their other half. Nothing is wrong with you. You’ll still my first creation and my favorite alicorn. And now you can have family besides me.” Her calm, angelic voice washed over me, easing my doubts.  “Better?”  I took a breath. “Yes.” I looked straight into her eyes and asked, “So, what’s her name?”

“Her name is…”

ΩMidnight StarΩ

I cringed as I heard the Alicorn’s inevitable, entitled cry. “Midnight Star, you are late.” *sigh* “Again.” A’stavera called out to me across the sitting room. The room was ten paces across. Floor to ceiling windows dominated one wall of the room, framed with sheer pink curtains. All of the walls had been painted a pastel pink with hot pink daisies. The floor’s hot pink tiles were partially hidden by a pure white rug in the shape of a shield. Her furniture was a mismatch of various couches and love seats in different shades of pink. All in all, this place looked wretched.

I emotionally hunkered down as she ranted. She went on and on about how I had been consistently late this week. And how bad I was at cleaning. To be fair to myself, her sitting room would’ve taken a whole ten-pony cleaning crew at least a week to clean, while she only gave me one day.

“However, Midnight, you are fantastic at magic,” A’stavera continued as she paced around me, “by far the best unicorn I have ever seen. I mean, if you were an Alicorn, you would be on the Council. That’s how good you are. But, sadly for you, you are a lonely, pathetic unicorn who couldn’t even do her job right. Because of that, you will never amount to anything. And to think that I, with my endless grace and mercy, took you in, gave you a job, fed you, and gave you a place in society. You went behind my back and gossiped and dragged my good name into the mud. Unacceptable! If wasn’t for Harmony stepping in and personally transferring you to another Alicorn, I would have cast you out myself, taking your horn for my collection! Now get out of my sight!”

At that she turned and slammed the door in my face. Good riddance – I didn’t like her anyways. She didn’t have to say those things to me. It wasn’t my fault that I was late… four times. Now I just had to find my way out of here before she decided to take my horn out of spite. This was going to be fun. I turned around and trotted out of the sitting room and back into the maze. Twist after twist, turn after turn, the infernal labyrinth didn’t seem to end until, finally, I made it out.

The sun was setting over the Great Mountain as I made my way down the cobbled street. I felt oddly detached from the situation. On one hoof, I should have been ecstatic that I was saved from her pink-colored torment, but on the other I should have felt afraid. Afraid that the next Alicorn master would be even worse than A’stavera. Afraid the new master would take my horn for being late on the first day or for breaking something of value. There was no telling what could happen. However, that concern was for tomorrow. Today I needed to get home without upsetting another Alicorn. Oh! And eat! I needed to eat. Maybe Mom would have some haycakes ready. Mmm, raspberry flavor! Or blueberry?

“DON’T GO DOWN THE MANE!” A tan earth pony covered in blood sped down the cobblestone road. I ran into his path for more information. He skidded to a stop, panting like a Diamond dog on a hunt.

“Why? What’s going on?” I asked as he tried to catch his breath. I magicked some water and handed it to him. Thanking me, he gulped it down. When he finished, he said the worst thing I’d heard that day. “They’re razing the Mane! Anypony who steps on that street is instantly torn apart! The street is literally a river of blood! Whatever you do, don’t go that way!” he gasped in a panic. “I need to warn more ponies!”

“Wait, why are they doing this?” I asked, fear lacing into my voice. This couldn’t be happening. I had to go down the Mane. It was the fastest way to get home. Not only that, I needed to be home before Curfew or I was going to end up like those ponies on the Mane!

“They’re saying somepony stole something from one of the High Alicorns!” he yelled as he ran toward the East Side. “Don’t get caught after Curfew!” He disappeared on the other side of an Alicorn store. A High Alicorn? That meant that somepony had stolen from an Alicorn on the Council. Why? Why would someone do something so foolish? The Mane was a blood bath. I didn’t know what to do. The Mane was the only way I could get home before Curfew. And if they were razing that street, then I would be forced to to find another route. Unless… No, that was illegal. But if I used that spell, I could arrive home and skip out on the Mane altogether! But what if I got caught? I’d be flogged for certain. That was a chance I’d have to take if I didn’t want to die.

A scream pierced my thoughts. Thanking Harmony for the distraction, I stopped myself from placing a hoof on the Mane. The earth pony was right! The cobblestone street was a veritable river of blood. The flag poles were decorated as if it was the winter solstice with entrails of unfortunate ponies. Decapitated heads graced the tops of the poles, frozen faces screaming the injustice of the Alicorns’ actions. Young, old, earth pony, unicorn, pegasus, it didn’t matter – all fell victim to the Alicorns’ wrath. And the Alicorns still had not spent their anger.

A unicorn tripped in front of me, splashing blood on me. He was screaming at me to run away before they could get me when a ruby-colored Alicorn landed behind him. Its dagger-like teeth flashed a bone-chilling sneer, like that of a predator finding its prey. With measured steps, the beast walked over to the unicorn. The unicorn turned, saw the danger, and tried to scamper away, but the predator just laughed. It laughed a laugh that will haunt me for years to come. Then it pounced.

It sank its teeth into the unicorn’s left flank, cackling as it tore leg from body, blood and sinew spraying in an arch before splattering on the ground. The beast proceeded to rip the unicorn apart with its teeth. I couldn’t turn away, even though I wanted to with every fiber of my being. The wet tearing sounds, the snapping of bones, and that blood-curdling scream would be forever etched into my memories. It kept the poor unicorn alive as it pulled out his entrails. Finally, after the longest ten minutes I’d ever experienced, the Alicorn ripped the poor pony’s head off, putting him out of his misery. The damned thing started to hum as it hung the pony’s intestines on the flagpoles. The head of the poor unicorn was displayed along with the other victims’.

I was so scared. I screamed. I screamed so loudly that the ruby Alicorn turned around and looked at me.

I did something illegal. Something bad.

I teleported.

                                                                                                                       Ω

I… I… I teleported. I teleported in front of an Alicorn! AN ALICORN ON A RAMPAGE! This was not good, not good at all. What was I going to do? I had to run away. No, I couldn’t do that. What about…? “Midnight Star, drag yourself into our home before it is time for Curfew. Make haste!” My mother’s voice pierced my muddled thoughts. Right. Get inside, then worry about the teleportation spell later. I ran inside and greeted my mother on the way in. Her lilac eyes flashed with concern, but as soon as the concern showed, it was gone. She went straight to the kitchen.

The lemon cream walls of my home didn’t ease my anxiety like they had before. Instead they only seemed to make it worse! I started to pace back and forth on the same sandstone floor that everypony had. Only Alicorns could afford hardwood. Speaking of Alicorns, were they going to hunt me down and bring me in front of the Council for teleporting? Or were they going to drag me out of my family home and beat me in front of it? Or…

“MIDNIGHT!” “WHAT?”

“Stop pacing! I fear you will walk a trench into my poor house… again,” Mom huffed. “Sit down and tell me what the matter is.” She nodded to our ancient table. The poor thing had so many scratches and dents that it barely looked like a table. But, it had been in our family for as long as I could remember. I had fond memories of sitting down with both of my parents and enjoying dinner together. Of course, that was before the last raze.

“Midnight?” Concern laced itself into my mother’s voice as she studied me with those lilac eyes. I’d always felt as though she had hoarded all the beauty to herself when she gave birth to me. But that was a vain thought to save for another day. I took a breath…

“Mom,” I confessed, “I teleported. And I did in front of an Alicorn on the warpath. What should I do?”

My mother sighed. “I wish I knew,” she said, “I honestly cannot figure the solution. The reason you committed a crime was to flee from danger. And an Alicorn on the warpath is a good excuse. I suppose we must carry on, wait it out, and pray they forget the issue.”

Wait it out. We’d have to wait and see if they would take action. Oh, sweet Harmony, please let them forget this!

“Here. Drink some tea, Midnight. It will calm…”

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcome.


	6. The First Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sombra is a mood. And so is Midnight.
> 
> And I also want to thank my editor, ZaphodBeeblebrox (she's not actually on this site), for putting up with my antics and horrible spelling since, I dunno, late May 2019? She's the best. And my beta reader, TheWitMiser (neither is she), for her helpful comments and snarky banter (and for encouraging me to keep going). Without her, this would not be published.

The First Meeting

(Present: Crystal Kingdom)

Her white hooves clanged on the tile floor as she raced down the halls of the Crystal Hospital. She really hoped that this wasn’t happening. All the signs were there, but there was still a slim chance it wasn’t as bad as she had feared.

Everypony moved out of her way, somehow keeping their wits about them enough to bow in reverence. In the past, when she had freed the ponies, she had hated how they bowed down in her presence. But now she didn’t care. All she cared about now was that her pupil was probably in the hooves of that neglectful, indolent alicorn refuse. She would admit that she had made mistakes by the purple pony in the past, that she should have done back then what she was doing now. In her defense, the barrier wasn’t strong enough back then to keep him from breaking through. Now she wished she could take it all back, start all over.

But the past was the past, and she must live on.

“Your Highness, this way,” said the nurse.

“Thank you,” she said softly in deference to the sleeping patients, “and you are sure Rainbow is alive?”

“Yes, your Highness, I am,” the nurse replied.

“Good.”

They hustled to Rainbow Dash’s room. The princess saw the destruction caused by the spell that had stolen her prized pupil away from her. Anger flared up inside her as she stared at the mummified wreckage that was Rainbow Dash’s body.  This was the reason she had erected the barrier. The destruction caused by alicorn magic was too great for most to withstand. Not just anypony could control it. She could barely control it. But to protect the innocents, she had to.

“Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she ran up to the white alicorn. The pair embraced in a tearful reunion. Celestia’s rainbow hair covered the distraught yellow pegasus crying for her injured friend. Celestia gently disentangled herself from Fluttershy and paced over to Rainbow Dash, not making a sound.

“Was Twilight with her when they found her?” asked Celestia as she gently started to remove the bandages. Fluttershy shook her head.

Celestia hummed to herself. She inquired about Spike. Upon hearing the news of his recovery, she determined that she would see him next. Her horn flared with a spell that hadn’t been cast since the time of the Alicorns. It was in these moments that she was glad she was an alicorn.

“What spell are you using, Princess Celestia?” asked Fluttershy, “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

‘Just for asking such a question, the other alicorns would have crippled her. Why am I thinking of those good-for-nothing beasts, anyhow? They are probably terrorizing some other continent. Thank Harmony they aren’t on mine!’ Thinking these things, Princess Celestia looked at Fluttershy with so much affection it hurt. The things she had done to get to this point made sense when she looked upon the ponies of her kingdom. Looking at Fluttershy cemented her convictions.

“I’m casting a healing spell for Rainbow Dash, my dear,” Celestia smiled. “Now, if you could remain quiet for a few minutes, it would go a long way towards helping Rainbow Dash.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Fluttershy bowed.

Celestia turned back to Rainbow Dash. It looked like the nurses had recently changed her bandages, but her face was still covered up. Celestia focused on her spell.

 

Golden light escaped from the bandages as they started to loosen. Rainbow Dash’s stitches-covered body was soon exposed to the air, and the light started to penetrate each individual stitch. One by one, the stitches removed themselves, leaving behind a hide with no blemishes to indicate the pony had ever been injured. After ten drawn-out minutes, the last stitch had unraveled. Rainbow Dash wearily blinked her rose-colored eyes. To even the obtuse observer, the light from the sun seemed to hurt her eyes. Celestia silently magicked the blinds shut. “Mmm, where am I?” asked a sleepy Rainbow Dash.

“You, Rainbow Dash, are in the Crystal Infirmary,” Celestia answered. “You were in such critical condition when the crystal sentries found you that we were afraid you wouldn’t make it. If your condition was manageable by natural means, you would be in Canterlot’s hospital right now. But that’s not important. What is important is that you tell me what happened. Where is Twilight?!”

                                                                                                Ω

(Past)

** ΩMidnight StarΩ **

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

“Midnight? Are you not going to answer the door? It seems quite rude not to answer the door when you are home. Honestly, dear, I had thought I raised you better.” Mom reprimanded me as she walked to the door. I couldn’t stop her. I was frozen with fear. My feet glued to the floor, no pun intended, and I looked on, helpless, as my mom started to magic the door open. Did she not understand the danger? It could be the Alicorns coming t-to take me away!

“M-mom, please w-wait!”

Too late.

She arrived at the open door before I could finish my sentence. My mom stepped aside to welcome a grey and light-green earth pony. “Please excuse me, Miss Star, but I jest had to stop fer the night ‘cause of that infernal Curfew them thar Al’corns made,” rumbled the earth pony. “Gosh, miss, hope I haven’ done broke down that thar door to get in!”

“Quite alright, Mr. Sunny Appleseed,” my mom answered. “Now, if my daughter had opened the door upon the first three knocks you applied, you would not have endured such a fright! Sir, I have a pot of tea brewing on the stove. Midnight, would you be a dear and retrieve this gentlepony’s bags from outside? You will not have to even step foot outside. Mr. Appleseed, would you like some haycakes? I will have a fresh batch from the oven in a few minutes.” She led Sunny Appleseed to the kitchen. “Yes’m, that sounds mighty fine, Miss Star,” the pony said, following her. ‘ _But I want some haycakes! Oh, well, now for those bags. Sweet Harmony, that’s a lot of bags! Only two minutes until nightfall!_ ’ *Sigh*

                                                                                        Ω

ΩSOMBRAΩ

Ah, night. The most peaceful time of … day. That blessed time of those 24 hours when the alicorns would not vie for my attention. So peaceful. … Too peaceful, in fact. I was accustomed to hearing excited activity in the dark of the night. There were festivals, and the night market. Oh, the night market, now that was a fun time. But that had all stopped a few years ago. What did those infernal alicorns do this time?

I spread my wings and shot into the starry sky. Maybe there would be a night market in the next town. Unless some senseless alicorn had put the kibosh on that, as well. Harmony should fix that. I would bring up the topic of the night market’s return at tomorrow’s lunch. I traveled for near to two hours before I finally found a town with a night market. I believe this town was called Ponyville? I saw a glimpse of the distant future mirrored by this town. I was assured, everything would be fine. In future, all of the alicorns would be brought in line and would let the ponies thrive. I didn’t really need to do anything.

I landed and magicked my wings away. I created a shorter stature for myself so I could blend in as a regular pony. I took my bits and went shopping, as the night was still young. The main street was lined with stalls full of all manner of knick-knacks, food, and different creatures from across the land. I went to the stall that was closest to me. A griffin was yelling out his wares, “Come one, come all! To McMalie’s shop o’ curiosities and rare items! Ye, mah good sirrah, come see what ol’ McMalie has in store. I ‘as lock of mane o’ the ol’ Great One, Sombra ‘isself! I also ‘as in me possession a feather from ‘armony ‘erself! Come and see!”

I chuckled as I trotted towards his stall. ‘This has got to be good,’ I thought. ‘There’s no way this guy would have a lock of my mane. I would know. I think.’ The aging, scarred griffin (McMalie, was it?) grinned as I perused his wares. The items he advertised were a silver-painted feather and a dyed lock of mane – thank Harmony, not my mane (or the true feather, at that). Instead of buying my hair or a fake feather, I purchased a gold locket that was shaped like a phoenix, with a blood ruby in its eye socket. I figured I could enchant such a piece later on. I walked around the market and marveled at all manner of creatures hailing from across the land. A Kinku (whose species is related to the fox, and known for their jewel-like fur, nine tails and butterfly wings) was trying to sell her wares to a wolfling. But the wolfling, its granite-colored fur and liquid gold eyes shining with lust, was flirting with the Kinku. But even my limited experience showed me plainly that he was failing in his endeavors. On my left chatted a group of hybrids in their native language and dialect. From the looks of it, this group’s members were comprised of unicorn and griffin species. They bore the heads of unicorns and the bodies of their griffin relatives. Feathers adorned head and face, as opposed to the traditional fur.

 This was why I loved coming to the night markets. Creatures such as these, hybrids, Kinku, and many other creatures, ventured out only at night. And it was the only time I was able to observe and interact with them. Every second, every minute was an enjoyable experience. If only the night market in Harmonia was still active. Alas, the time of Harmonia’s night market had long passed, and I had no idea how to bring about its return. The alicorns would not, of course, listen to me. When I attempted conversation with them, they quickly showed their baboonish wit, bowing down and worshiping and all that. Sometimes I wished I was merely an earth pony. When I wore a pony’s countenance, I was always free. I didn’t worry about brown-nosing alicorns sequestering me in my chambers, away from this noble land. I smiled at thought. ‘Freedom, what a unique, ridiculous idea.’

I was lost in thought when somepony bumped into me. I looked up, and a blue alicorn, albeit a small one, was apologizing to me. When I was a REGULAR UNICORN! By Harmony’s mane! She was no bigger than I in this form, her mane appeared to have stars in it, and her coat was a rich navy blue.  Light blue eyes stared into mine, pleading for my forgiveness. “It’s…”  

“LUNA!” The alicorn’s head snapped to the side at the sound of her name. I turned toward this new voice. A pure white she-alicorn with a rainbow mane and tail came running toward us. Surprisingly, she did not make use of her wings as the alicorns of Harmonia did. As I marveled at this unusual occurrence, the she-alicorn reached the navy she-alicorn, huffing and puffing. “Luna, please, I beg of you! Stop running off on your own!” she implored the blue one.

“But, Celestia, there’s so much to see!” Young Navy exclaimed at her companion. “But you only want to look at scarves! I’m fifty years old! I should be fine without you supervising me all the time!”

 I started to backpedal, but I was caught inside a magic bubble. Great. Now I was stuck with two arguing alicorns. This was most assuredly how I wished to spend my night. Yes. I blew my mane out of my eyes and settled down to await their realization of my presence.

“Now, go apologize to that poor unicorn for ruining his night!” Wait, WHAT?! I got confused.

“I was, Sister! But you interrupted me!” Sister?!

“You would not have had to apologize to him if you did not run off! Luna, do you know what could have happened to you?” asked Miss Rainbow (I guessed her name was Celdestria or something like that). Celdestria’s eyes started to brim with unshed tears. I politely cleared my throat to get their attention so I could get out. I could have broken out of the bubble myself, but I did not want to blow my cover. “Erm, excuse me!” I called out after my throat clearing wasn’t heard. However, this attempt was equally unsuccessful.

“NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN!!! WE ARE NOT IN HARMONIA! I AM SAFE HERE! REGULAR PONIES ARE SAFE HERE! NO ONE IS GOING TO DIE!” Luna screamed, navy wings flaring in agitation. “So why do you keep coddling me?!”

“Because I love you and I do not wish you or anyone else to be harmed. You are so small and vulnerable. Can I please put you in a little tiny box and hide you away from the world?”  

“NO!”

“… Please?”

Their private conversation ensued publicly for what seemed like hours. Irritation started to brew underneath my placid countenance. This had gone on quite long enough. As I readied my magic for a spell, Luna approached the bubble. She looked me in the eyes. Her chest expanded as she opened her mouth to say, “I want to apologize for taking up your time. But I also want to know what a unicorn from Harmonia is doing in Poniston?” She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“How did you know that I was from Harmonia?” I inquired. I began to study her more intensely. Her sister was right – she did have the aura of a pony whom everyone must protect. She was enchantingly adorable!

“You have an aura of dread and doom that all the ponies have who are from Harmonia. And I would never go there, except to meet Sombra, of course!” (Great. A wild fan pony had appeared.) “I would love to pick his brain and learn all the history he’s lived through and the spells he’s made. Ooh, how I would love to learn them all! Especially the spell about dream magic. Sister, wouldn’t it be great to learn all those spells?”

“Yes, Luna, it would be fantastic to learn all those spells, but let us first release this poor unicorn from its bubble.” Celdestria smiled at her sister (how strange to hear ‘sister’ from an alicorn). ‘Celdestria’ didn’t sound quite right, but that was her name, I suppose.

“The bubble you conjured, Sister” Luna reminded Celdestria, “I believe it is you who should release the poor unicorn. Oh, my good sir, what is your name? I didn’t quite catch it.”

“Somber,” I answered, “And your name is Luna, right? And your sister’s name is Celdestria. But what I’m confused about is how you two are sisters. My understanding of alicorns is that alicorns can’t have siblings, as they are made from the strands of Harmony’s mane.”

“Celdestria? Who’s that?” whispered Celdestria. Luna nodded her head in understanding of my plight. “That may be true for most alicorns, but that is not the case with me and my sister. You see, she and I were made from the same stand. My sister harnesses the power of the sun, while I harness the power the power of moon.  And my sister and I aren’t the only case of Harmony creating alicorn siblings. You only can find them outside of Harmonia. I want to extend an invitation for you to move out of Harmonia and live here with us where you’ll be safe. And there’s no threat of an alicorn razing here! What a bonus! So, what do you say?”

I looked at her closely. Is there an ulterior motive in this request? Why does she offer me this chance? Does she know that I’m really Sombra? No, that can’t be it. They would have shaken in their horseshoes (or, perhaps, would have squealed in Luna’s case) had they known who I was. I shook myself out my musings, took a breath, and said, “As much as I would love to accept your invitation, I can’t help but wonder if there is an ulterior motive behind this offer. So, please excuse my skepticism.”

“Oh, it is quite alright!” said Celdestria. “We understand. Most ponies would be apprehensive about being offered a new home. But let me reassure you, we are nothing like the alicorns in Harmonia. Chiefly, we do not kill for fun. I personally think that’s abhorrent and disgusting.” Her face twisted in complete hatred. I could feel the anger rolling off her and squirmed at that uncomfortable-looking face. Her left hoof kept pounding the ground, too. It was refreshing seeing another alicorn feel this way.

“So, you are saying that you are not Discord-touched? That you are truly following Harmony’s plan? I ask because I’ve heard such a lie before.” When I said this, I saw the shock wash over the rainbow pony’s face. Many emotions flashed across her features, the most prominent ones being horror and bewilderment. She stepped backwards; tears started to fall from her eyes. Luna looked at her, confused.

“They would betray their species like that?” Celdestria quietly asked. “Offer ponies sanctuary and then turn around and kill them?”

“Yes,” I said. “I tried to stop it, but by the time I got there she was already dead. Ripped apart by the ones she needed most.” I started to choke up. There were too many alicorns and only one of me. I couldn’t take them all. It was simply too much. How could I challenge over three thousand alicorns all by myself? Too much. Too much!

“How can Sombra let this happen?!” screamed Celdestria. “He is the firstborn! He should be able to make them stop!”

“Have you ever thought that it’s been too much for him to handle?!” I yelled back. “That he is just one alicorn up against over three thousand of his kind?”

“But he is all powerful!” she countered

“NO! HE IS NOT!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Seeing the sisters’ expressions, I softened my tone. “He is not. Harmony may have made him powerful, but not all powerful. He gets overwhelmed. He feels scared. And I believe he does not know what to do.”

“Celestia,” Luna’s gentle voice pierced the atmosphere, shattering the tension like glass, “he is telling the truth. Let me go to Harmonia. Let me go help Sombra. I can do it.” Celdestria snapped her head towards her strandmate.

“And how do you know he will take you in?” asked Celdestria. Luna opened her mouth to answer.

“He will,” I interrupted. “I know he will. I’ll put in good word in with him for you. He will listen to me. I can tell from our discussion that you two really care for your ponies. That’s all he really cares about.”

Celdestria narrowed her eyes. “And how do I know that she’ll be accepted? I can’t just fly her over there and leave my ponies alone. Who is going to protect them while I am away?”

“Well, you’ll just have to trust your sister, that she has made the right decision, and that Harmony instilled at least a little sense in her firstborn. Now can I please get out of this bubble? I would very much like to enjoy the rest of the night market.”

                                                                                            Ω

ΩMidnightΩ

Huff… huff… I… huff… hate… huff… luggage… huff…

Hufffff… I collapsed on the floor in utter exhaustion. Those were the longest two minutes of my life. Well, other than that night on the Mane, I guess. That was certifiably awful. Ugh. How much stuff did one pony need? Was he moving somewhere, or what? ‘Oh, sweet Harmony, please help me. I can’t do another bag rush!’ I thought this as I lay sprawled out on the floor. I just couldn’t move. Everything hurt so much after using such extensive magic. “Ah think I’m … gonna sleep ‘ere tonigh’,” I slurred in that country bumpkin accent I’d heard just a few days before.  

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

“OPEN UP IN THE NAME OF THE KEEPERS OF HARMONY!”

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Crap! What now? Couldn’t a mare sleep on her foyer in peace? Guess not. With what little magic I could muster, I turned the handle and opened the door. I inclined head towards Harmonia’s finest and snarked, “If you’re expecting the standard welcome, you’re gonna be sorely disappointed ‘cause I’m way too tired to get off the floor and say hello. Hi.” My head dropped to the floor again as I groaned. Normally I would have freaked out, but today had been a long day.

“Well, Miss, by Harmony’s orders, we are here to escort you to your new permanent abode. You must come with us. Or, we could teleport you there if that’s what you prefer?” The Keeper of Harmony seemed to have a hint of laughter during the latter half of his announcement, if there could be such a tone when he was speaking monotone. Eh.

“Just… carry me. I can’t move a muscle,” I slurred as sleep washed over me. I could have sworn I heard him say ‘as you wish’ as the darkness swallowed me up. But that was preposterous. The Keepers don’t have personalities. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya so!  
> Please leave a comment, as they do really do help. P.s. my editor is looking over my shoulder please send help. 
> 
> *edit*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox (still not on this site) wrote:* @The_white_stone Please note that the last sentence is a run-on. :P  
> *The_white_stone wrote:* Shut up!  
> *The_white_stone has left the chat*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox sighed and has left the chat*  
> *TheWitMiser has entered the chat*  
> *TheWitMiser wrote:* Huh? What'd I miss?  
> *Baffled, TheWitMiser has left the chat*


	7. Mangos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone like Mangos?

Mangos  
(Present, Sombra’s cave)  
A siren rang throughout the cave – an angry, rage-filled sound that rumbled through Sombra’s body, shaking him to the core. He knew this call. He had hoped he would have at least a few days before he heard it. That Harmony-damned Celdestria was calling.  
He rose carefully so as not to disturb his beloved’s sleep. At this critical stage in the spell, she could lose her mind to the discord if roused. Such a thing would not happen on his watch. He loped along the path, through the throat of the Jabbernight, and reached the jaws of the beast in which he lived. He was fortunate to have found the Jabbernight’s carcass before it turned into a mountain. If he had not, where would he have stayed for the past two thousand years? He was not about to sleep in the snow. No, thank you. It would have been terrible if he had found Midnight Star before he found a home. Only the worst of mates would not provide for his beloved.  
The snowstorm raged outside the teeth of his home. The howling winds reflected his mood as he forced himself to move further away from his slumbering mate. The curse of a weather alicorn was his inability to hide emotions.  
Snow clung to obsidian fur as the alicorn trudged toward the barrier. Sombra gritted his teeth when he saw the rainbow mane of the traitor. He could kill her now and be done with it. But, alas, his beloved was obsessed with her. Next time.  
“Oh, Great Black One, it’s so nice to see you,” she snarled as he stomped closer to the glass-like barrier. Frost bit the rocks he passed and cracked them open upon the floor. “Do I need a formal request to see my student? If so, to whom should I send it?” Venom-laced syllables sprung from her traitorous mouth as she glared from just a few paces away. ‘One well-aimed spell, Sombra, and the object of your pain and suffering will finally disappear,’ he thought after he formulated an answer to the witch’s question. “You can deliver your invite to Discord yourself. You belong with him, after all. Celdestria.”  
“My name is CELESTIA! Grr… Just SHUT UP! I am not here to exchange insults and walk down our Harmony-damned memory lane. I am here for Twilight. Give her back!”  
“Oh! Look who’s making demands. Her murderer wants her victim back, hmm?” Sombra sneered at the alicorn. “So, you can slit her throat again? Not going to happen. I am not going to stand by and watch that happen again. I could not save her in her past lives, but Harmony knows how I tried to save her when she was Midnight. I am not going to watch death form in her eyes again. Once my spell is complete, she will remember, and whatever friendship you once had with my mare will be obliterated! NOW LEAVE, MATE KILLER!” The soundwaves from his command forced Celestia back several paces, nearly knocking her off her hooves. But, this one was made of tougher stuff. A little sound magic was not going to dissuade her. She was going to retrieve her prized pupil, one way or another.   
The snowstorm’s wrath burned ever colder as Sombra’s fury spiraled. Cracks formed in the earth as he stomped his hoof. Bigger and bigger, the cracks grew until a small chasm split the two royals, the Firstborn and the Liberator. Magic crackled as the two faced off. Black lightning struck a few paces away from Celestia, breaking her concentration from the spell she was forming.   
“Face it, Celdestria.” With the patience of a saint, Sombra said, “You are clearly outmatched, and many centuries spent planning your downfall would be wasted if I just killed you right here, right now. Go home and await your demise like a good little pony. I need to attend to my mate.” At that, he turned his tail towards her and started to trot away.   
“It was the only way.”  
He halted. “What?!” he ground out. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”   
The chasm widened. “I said that it was the only way!” she cried. “You wouldn’t do anything! You are the invincible, unkillable embodiment of Harmony’s power. The only way to weaken you was to take the only thing you cared about. And that was my good friend, your mate, Midnight Star! I had no choice! You would have stopped me from putting up that barrier!” Suddenly the wind knocked her down. Ice plummeted to the ground, shredding the alicorn mare’s pearly coat. White was stained red as the ice rained down faster and faster. Through the sounds of the howling wind and falling shards of ice, she heard him say, “The reason I would have stopped you is this: I would have stopped you to prevent the mass genocide of millions of creatures not limited to your own kind.”  
“No! you are wrong!” she yelled as blood filled her mouth. “The alicorns are on a different continent! Killing and torturing other poor creatures. They…”  
“SHUT THE HELL UP! You created a mass genocide for the alicorns, the pixies, the kinkus, the wolflings, and too many more to name. The only ones that I know to have survived are of the pony variety. I do not even know if there are any Wild Beings out there anymore. And the funny thing? I would have helped you kill off the alicorns. But you killed my mate, not once, not twice, but six different times. So, leave now, Destroyer, leave while you can. Because the next time I see you, I will tear you from limb to limb.”  
Crack!  
Sombra left Celdestria with a fifty paces-wide chasm spanning the area between her and the pony she wanted most. As her screams faded out of earshot, he noticed the storms easing into sunny skies. So, his mood was improving. That was nice. The alicorn stepped over the teeth of his home, taking a breath of fresh freedom. Home, untainted home. He maintained a leisurely pace over the crystal flooring he had painstakingly put together, depicting the life he had had with his beloved. Every crystal was magically chiseled out to fit perfectly into this masterpiece. It was one of the few things that had kept him going during those 3000 years trapped in purgatory. He was quite proud of it. And when Twilight awoke with her memories, he would show her this and many other precious gifts he had made over the years waiting to find her.   
“… although, the library that I have might excite her more.” He chuckled as he climbed the grand crystalline staircase. He made it back to Twilight as the fire began to dim, the cold creeping into the room and ice crystals forming at the perimeter. If the fire was extinguished, then the whole room would be covered in these crystals, creating a wasteland tundra. Moreover, the whole structure reverted back to the icy wasteland it had become after the barrier was first erected. Funny how everything alive seemed to hinge on the body of its creator. At least Sombra could mimic the power of Harmony and the tree her body became. Just not enough to save those innocent lives.   
He crossed over to the dying flame. With a spell that stole a piece of his essence, he kindled new life in the red flower, causing it to roar to even more impressive heights than before. The creeping ice hid once again in the depths from whence they came. He smiled. Trotting over to the enormous bed, the smug winged stallion watched Twilight’s prone form. He sat at the foot of the bed and stared, mesmerized by every curve, every strand of fur, every feather she possessed. ‘I think I found my new hobby,’ he thought fondly, with a grin growing across his face. He curled his body around his beloved’s shivering amethyst form. “This,” he whispered, “this is where I belong. And in a few more days she will awake, and all will be as it should be.”  
Ω   
“WAR! THIS MEANS WAR!” Celestia yelled as her adversary retreated into his home, “YOU HEAR ME, SOMBRA?! IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME MY TWILIGHT BACK, THEN I WILL TAKE HER BACK BY FORCE!!!” Sharp pains, like razors slicing across her hide, assaulted her body as she tried to stand. Crying out, she fell to the ground. “This is not how I will die. I’m going to kill that bastard!” The blood-soaked alicorn gritted her teeth. Lights flashed as she cast a healing spell. Slowly, ever so slowly, the skin mended together. Eventually, her body returned to its normal state.   
She shot into the sky. Faster than a shooting star, she barreled on toward Canterlot. She called upon the captain of the guard as she landed, her hooves barely managing to brake her accelerated pace. Wrath boiled inside her as she stormed towards the throne room, her meticulously dulled teeth sharpening with each stomp of her hoof. Her alicornian nature was beginning to reveal itself. This was not a good sign.   
“EVERYONE! FIND EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL!” she bellowed. “WE ARE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY!”   
Ponies scrambled to do the Princess’s bidding. Usually the Mane Six handled emergent situations. But the Princess wasn’t calling them. No. She was calling the council. There was only one reason for the council to be called.  
War.  
Ω  
(Harmonia, past)  
ΩSOMBRAΩ  
I zoomed towards my home in a cheery mood. Night markets always had away to lighten my spirit. But what Luna and her sister had said stuck with me. What if I did have the power to stop the alicorns from doing what they were doing? I could put an end to the razing, and to the blood baths! That would be fantastic! Just, how?  
I landed, still pondering these questions. I went inside and zeroed in on the kitchen. “Food, glorious food. You never fail me, my good friend!” I spoke to my cupboard as I raided its contents. The voices in the dining room did not register in my mind until my quest was complete.  
“It is good to see you, Mother. Why thank you, my son, it is always a pleasure to see you, too.”  
“Mmm,” I attempted small talk with food in my mouth. “Mfff merff mmm muff.”  
“Yes, please go on and keep talking with your mouth full,” she retorted. “I truly do understand every word you are attempting to say.”  
“Realfree?” There was still food in my mouth. I did not know her ears were so keen. Hmm, another thing I learned today. Harmony simply gave me a deadpan look. If looks could kill, I would have been dust by now. What did I do?  
“What kind of son did I raise?” Harmony asked no one in particular. “Apparently the kind who talks with his mouth full. Swallow, boy! By my name, you’re going to choke yourself. And then I’ll have to resurrect you from the dead, thus making you the first zombie equine in existence. All because you couldn’t swallow your chicken.”  
May I introduce Harmony, queen of over-exaggeration and eminent ruler of hyperbole!   
I managed to swallow before choking on the laugh bubbling up in my throat. Didn’t want that to happen. Where did she come up with these sayings? I guessed it was her overactive imagination.   
“So, did you have a good time at the night market?” She tilted her head in curiosity. A smile was trying to creep into her expression, but her question had been serious. And a serious Harmony did not smile. Well, not since I had been a colt.   
“It was educational,” I replied as went back to rummaging in the cupboard. There was more food to be had! “I met some alicorns who were not blithering idiots. That was wonderful. Hey, where are my mangos? Did you eat them all? You did, DIDN’T YOU? HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAT, MOTHER?!” I turned towards her with a hurt expression on my face. She just rolled her eyes. “Sombra, please, I did not eat your precious mangos. Why would I? I knew you would guilt trip me with those soulful eyes. Why did I create you with those eyes?!” she exclaimed. She shook her head, conjured a slice of pineapple, and began to eat. “Besides,” Harmony opined between bites of fruit, “Pineapples are far superior to mangos.”  
“I would have to disagree with you, your Grace,” a new voice cut in. I turned towards the voice to find a tiny, ice blue unicorn with an oceanic mane standing in my kitchen doorway, munching on a mango. MY MANGO! What the hay?! Juice dribbled down her chin as her striking amethyst eyes, which didn’t match the colors of her body, stared at my mother, in my house, eating my mango! Completely dumbstruck, I struggled to find any words to say in this situation. This was unprecedented! Why was this unicorn eating my food? And arguing with my mother? Only I got to do that! She smiled and proceeded with her argument. “While pineapples are indeed delicious, a ripe mango fresh off the tree is by far the better option.” She polished off the rest of the mango. I was looking forward to that fruit. Mango thief!  
Then I realized there was an unfamiliar pony in my house.  
“Excuse me. What is going on?”  
Ω   
ΩMidnightΩ  
I woke up in the most comfortable bed ever made to find myself in an unfamiliar place. Stranger yet, there was a silver Alicorn smiling down at me. This couldn’t end well. I was dead meat for sure. I scooched backwards until my back hit the headboard. The room was bright and airy, not at all agreeing with the doom I felt, knowing I was soon to be eaten. The walls were eggshell white, and on my right stood ceiling-to-floor windows, revealing a gorgeous forest with the sun shining brightly on the trees. It looked like I was going to die on a beautiful day. Fantastic. I tried to shake the heavy black comforter off of me but tangled my hooves in it instead.   
“Here, let me help you,” the Alicorn said, their voice sounding like windchimes twinkling in the wind. I would have loved to hear more of that voice if it came from a different species. The voice sounded female, but I couldn’t ever be sure with Alicorns. They had used worse tricks on us ponies. The silver Alicorn glided toward the bed. It was like matter itself shifted to make room for the Alicorn and stared in awe. The power emitting from them was tangible, and I could taste it on my tongue. It tasted like a rainy day, with a hint of lemon and mint. It was very pleasant. I saw colors flash on their coat in the sunlight as they moved. Purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white. Purple, blue, orange, pink, yellow, and white. No other colors showed except these six. Even their mane had those six colors. Purple fading into blue. Blue fading into orange. Colors fading into one another from top to bottom until the white ends of their mane barely touched the ground. Their eyes were like a spoked wheel, with each color taking a section. Their horn looked like fine-spun glass. All in all, this Alicorn was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life. And that meant I had an immediate distrust of them. My life’s motto was ‘if it’s pretty don’t trust it because it will kill you in your next heartbeat.’   
They helped me untangle my leg and stand up on my hooves. The dark wood floor felt cool beneath me. “Hello, my little one, you must be scared and confused. Do not worry, you are now under my direct protection. No harm will come to you. My name is Harmony. It is a pleasure to meet you, Midnight Star.” Wait, did they just say their name was Harmony? As in, the creator of everything? I fell to my knees, bowing my head, once I realized the truth. I was in the presence of Harmony, the Mother of All, the Creator of my home, the Keeper of Life, the Doorway to the Void. I was not worthy. I was like a worm in her presence. An insignificant thing. A bug to be trampled upon by her hooves. A…  
“Stop with those thoughts. Rise, my child, and don’t think those thoughts about yourself. You and every living creature are my children. I will not have my children grovel at my hooves. No, the ones that kill my children for sport or for any other reason should be weeping at my hooves, begging for mercy. Don’t worry, my little Star. Their time is limited. So, stand up. Let’s get some food. I’m starving.” She smiled as she helped me up to my hooves. She turned and started for the door. “Are you coming?” she asked, the corners of her lip forming a smirk. I shook myself out of my stupor and followed after her. I practically galloped to keep up with her long strides. Did I mention she was huge? Almost three times the height of a normal Alicorn, and twice as majestic. My horn scarcely reached the top of her hindquarters when she finally stopped.   
The kitchen alone was twice the size of my house, with dark wood flooring, eggshell white walls and black wood cabinets. There were floor to ceiling windows in between the cabinets, making the whole room feel airy and comfortable. If my mom had been here, she would salivate at the state-of-the-art cooking supplies. As for me, I shuddered through images of me burning this place down while trying to cook. Master chef, I am not. Harmony chuckled as she glided across the room.   
“Um, Y-Your Grace?” I stammered, the words sticking like peanut butter in my throat. I idly wondered if one can die from choking on words. Her Grace just laughed. Her laughter was a symphony that every living creature must stop and listen to. “No, you can’t choke on words and die. That would be a ridonkulous way to go, wouldn’t it?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye, “And, it’s Harmony, dear, not ‘Your Grace.’ So, what is your question? Other than whether you can throw off this mortal coil by means of asphyxiation on your own verbage.”  
Dumbstruck, I tried to figure out what the pony she was saying and finally returned to my question. “You can read minds?” Heat flooded my cheeks. That was embarrassing. I just blurted out a personal question like I had any right to do so. This was not how a pony should act in front of her Creator. I decided should leave now before I did anything stupider. I thought I had seen the front door on the way here. Maybe if she became distracted I could…   
“Peace, Midnight,” a soft voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up and saw Harmony’s gentle eyes gazing down on me. Her wing softly caressed my back in soothing circles. “It’s all right. You can ask anything that weighs on your heart or mind. To answer your question, I do hear every thought that goes through everypony and Wild Thing’s mind. And, yes, I can turn it off any time I want. I simply neglected to do so with you. You are a delightful breath of fresh air. Hungry?” She drew me forward with her magic to what looked like a cupboard and started pulling out various items. She stopped at a glorious ripe mango. The fruit’s peel was orange with a hint of red. Looking at it, I worked to keep my mouth from salivating. Unsuccessfully.   
Grrrrooowwwwlll …   
Harmony busted out laughing (again) at the sound. “So, it is safe to assume that you like mangos.” She continued to chuckle. “Here, let me peel this for you.” Somehow, she managed to remove the peel without taking any of the meat with it. Now that was magic. She had me sit at a black marble table in the next room. This room had the same dark wood floors I had seen before, but its walls were a warm taupe color with teeny blue candles hiding in curved holes that had been carved into the wall. This room also had a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful.   
I heard a crash in the kitchen. I got off my seat to investigate, but Harmony shook her head and told me to start eating. Flavor exploded in my mouth as I took my first bite. Soo good! I saw Harmony leave the room. Curious, I snuck to the doorway to peek. But I still munched on the mango. It was too good not to eat.  
“Welcome back home,” I heard her say. “’It is good to see you, Mother.’ Why thank you, my son, it is always a pleasure to see you, too.”  
“Mmm mfff merff mmm muff,” was the only reply. I wondered who she was talking to.   
“Yes, please go on and keep talking with your mouth full. I truly do understand every word you are attempting to say.” Huh, who knew she could be sarcastic? The Creator of the world! This was fantastic! I continued munching.  
“Realfree?”  
“What kind of son did I raise? Apparently the kind who talks with his mouth full. Swallow, boy! By my name, you’re going to choke yourself. And then I will have to resurrect you from the dead, making you the first zombie equine in existence. All because you couldn’t swallow your chicken.” Son? Who is her son? Wait it couldn’t be. Deep, rich, beautiful laughter filled the room. I felt it vibrating my bones, caressing each joint. It was something I definitely wanted to hear more of. I took a step into the kitchen. Harmony stood off to the side. She saw me and winked. She was talking with a black Alicorn whose back was turned toward me. His tail was black where it met his hindquarters but faded to kind of a crimson, blood-red at the bottom. It sparkled like rubies in the sunlight. Ooh! He had a really nice tail. Stop it, Midnight! Stop checking out his tail! That’s weird! Harmony’s lips twitched.   
“So, did you have a good time at the night market?” she asked the Alicorn. He turned his head toward her quickly and smiled but went straight back to rummaging through the cupboard.   
His deep, beautiful voice flowed into the kitchen. “It was educational.” Oh, I could listen to his voice every single day. *sigh* “I met some alicorns who were not blithering idiots. That was wonderful. Hey, where are my mangos? Did you eat them all? You did, DIDN’T YOU? HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAT, MOTHER?!” Umm… well, crap. I was in trouble. Ah, well. It’s all good. Did she just roll her eyes?  
“Sombra, please, I did not eat your precious mangos.” SOMBRA! *squeee* I did a little happy dance, trotting like the fan-filly I knew I was. “Why would I? I knew you would guilt trip me with those soulful eyes. Why did I create you with those eyes?!” she exclaimed. ‘I want to see his eyes,’ I mumbled, head tilted down in sadness. She shook her head as she conjured a slice of pineapple and started eating it. How could she do that! I couldn’t do that! I wanted to do that! “Besides,” Harmony replied between bites of citrus, “pineapples are far superior to mangos.” Excuse me? Nuh-uh, Your Grace, mangos were where it’s at.   
“I would have to disagree, Your Grace.” I said between bites of mango. Oh, sweet Harmony, this was so good! How could she not like this? “While pineapples are indeed delicious, a ripe mango fresh off the tree is by far the better option.” I felt a little disappointment when I finished the last of the mango. I wanted more.   
“Excuse me, what is going on?” the deep voice crashed, throwing off my musings. Angry ruby eyes pierced my soul when I found the source. Well, crap. I was done for. Guess I should run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ZaphodBeeblebrox has entered the chat*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote:* I don't like mangos. They're spelled weirdly, and they're too sweet. If I'm going for sweet, I'd prefer a nice peach. A white, no-cling peach from Fredericksburg, TX. Georgia's peaches leave a lot to be desired. Pineapples are much better, by the way. The tang! Oh, and those Altoid Sours with the pineapple extract were just delicious before they were sadly discontinued. My heart broke the day the Sours left the market...  
> *TheWitMiser has entered the chat*  
> *TheWitMiser wrote:* Blueberries.  
> *The_white_stone has entered the chat*  
> *The_white_stone wrote:* Well, Sombra does not care for your uneducated and unfounded opinions. Return to the editing rock whence you came.  
> *TheWitMiser has left the chat back to the beta-reading rock*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox stuck out her tongue*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox has whiningly left the chat*  
> *The_white_stone wrote:* I'm surrounded by idiots.  
> *The_white_stone has, resigned, left the chat*  
> *The_white_stone has reentered the chat*  
> *The_white_stone wrote:*
> 
> Please comment, like, or love the chapter! It helps with my poor self-esteem and helps me pay for my editor's iced beverage and snark. Help me.
> 
> *The_white_stone has left the chat. Again.*


	8. Celestia's Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This transition is based on the song 'No One Mourns the Wicked' from the play *Wicked*. Many thanks to my beta reader for giving me the idea to use this song. She da best! Now, as for my editor, I know my grammar is giving her a headache - my apologies! Gotta love having only a rudimentary knowledge of the English language! Now, enough rambling. On to the horror show! *edited version* tea-hee

Celestia’s Nightmare  
Celestia smiled as she climbed into bed. Things were finally going right for the first time since Twilight had disappeared. ‘Tomorrow is going to be good day,’ she thought as she closed her eyes. The doors to the Dreamrealm welcomed her with open arms.  
Ω   
Drums began to beat as Celestia entered the hall. Crowds cheered as the orchestra started their music. The Alicorns’ tyranny was no more! It was time to celebrate! She crossed over to the podium. “Ladies and Gentleponies!” Celestia’s voice carried across the great room, “We are gathered here today so I may tell the…  
‘Good news!  
We’ve won!  
The evil ponies are gone!  
The wickedest Alicorns there ever were,  
The enemy of all of us ponies here is no more!  
Good news!  
Good news!’

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Their gratitude was eminent and powerful in its strength. A free people breathing a sigh of freedom at last. Celestia raised a wing to silence her subjects. 

Celestia:  
‘Fellow Harmonians...  
Let us be glad,  
Let us be grateful!  
Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue  
The wicked workings of You-Know-Who.  
Isn't it nice to know  
That good will conquer evil?  
The truth we all believe'll by and by  
Outlive a lie  
For you and—'

Doors banged against the wall, interrupting Celestia’s speech. Murmurs were heard from the crowd as a lone figure crossed the threshold. Blood pooled underneath the figure’s cloak, trailing behind the creature walking toward Celestia. It stopped right in front of her, and ice-blue magic enclosed around the bloodied cloak. With a snap of the clasp, the creature ripped off its cloak. A mutilated Midnight Star stood in front of Celestia. Midnight pointed at Celestia and cried:  
‘No one mourns the wicked. No one cries, ‘THEY WON'T RETURN!’’   
A deep voice joined in and said,  
‘No one lays a lily on their grave.’  
Sombra stood beside his dead mate as they sang, he singing first:  
‘Good stallions scorn the wicked!’  
‘Through their lives, our foals will learn:’

Both:  
‘What we miss  
When we misbehave...’  
Harmony came right behind the two and sang:

‘And goodness knows  
The wicked's lives are lonely.  
Goodness knows  
The wicked die alone.  
It just shows, when you're wicked  
You're left only  
On your own...’

All:  
‘Yes, goodness knows  
The wicked's lives are lonely.  
Goodness knows  
The wicked cry alone.  
Nothing grows for the wicked.  
They reap only  
What they've sown...’

The crowd disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Celestia to reason with the three angry beings who remained. Celestia noticed that Midnight’s coat was changing with every word, slowly, from ice blue to deep purple. Gashes disappearing, wings forming, until finally, Midnight wasn’t standing in front of her. Twilight was. All three Alicorns started to circle the one with the rainbow mane.   
“Twilight?” whispered Celestia. 

All:  
‘No one mourns the wicked.  
Now at last, she's dead and gone!  
Now at last, there's so much joy throughout the land.  
And  
Goodness knows,  
We know what goodness is.  
Goodness knows  
The wicked die alone.’

Twilight:  
‘We died alone...’

“No, that’s not true. Why are you lying?! Get away from them!” Desperation clawed at Celestia as she watched raw hate and loathing fill her prized pupil’s countenance. Blood began to pour down the lilac pony’s face, stemming from those hate-filled eyes. 

All:  
‘Woe to those  
Who spurn what goodnesses  
They are shown.  
No one mourns the wicked...’

“TWILIGHT, GET AWAY FROM THEM!” she yelled as more and more blood began to soak her face and then the ground. Celestia’s hooves were steeped in the blood of her student. Horror filled Celestia’s heart as the crimson reached her knees.

Sombra:  
‘Good news!’

Twilight:  
‘No one mourns the wicked!’

Harmony:  
‘Good news!’

All:  
‘No one mourns the wicked!’ 

They turned and pointed at Celestia, crying out:  
‘Wicked!’

“NO! I am not wicked!”

‘Wicked!’

“NO! You are wrong!”

Harmony started to sprout branches on her body as she circled again around Celestia. Sombra started to slowly fade out. And Twilight trotted above the pooling blood.   
“Wicked!” they cried over and over, while Celestia denied it all. Celestia was up to her chest in blood when Harmony released the rest of herself into the tree that held everything together (The Tree of Harmony) and Sombra went up in smoke. Twilight was the only one in the room with Celestia. Slowly her coat began to change from purple to blue, and back. When Twilight was blue her wings would disappear.   
“Whose idea was it to kill the one who trusted you the most?” Twilight accused.  
“I don’t know!” Celestia sobbed.   
“LIES!” Midnight yelled, “You know whose it was! NOW ANWSER ME! Whose idea was it?!”  
“Mine!” Celestia heart fell at this confession, “I thought it was the only way!”

“Then you are wicked.”  
‘Yes, goodness knows  
The wicked's lives are lonely.  
Goodness knows  
The wicked cry alone.  
Nothing grows for the wicked.  
They reap only  
What they've sown...’  
At this, Twilight turned and left.   
Ω  
“Twilight! Twilight, don’t go!” Celestia cried as she jumped out of bed. “Oh, bless Harmony, was it only a dream? It was a truly terrible one.” She looked out the window and raised the sun.


	9. Hero Worship crushed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Sombra sings, I imagine him sounding like YouTube singer Jonathan Young. And when he speaks he sounds like Benedict Cumberbatch. How scrumptious. TheWitMiser and ZaphodBeeblebrox agree, of course. How lovely does he sound! I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the next installment.

(Present, Equestria)  
Luna stared at the moon, reflecting upon the Council meeting. Her sister was insane. Sombra couldn’t possibly be alive. They had defeated him at the Battle of the Crystal Empire, right? If memory served her correctly, the slate grey Sombra whom Twilight and the rest of Mane Six fought was not the same Sombra this alicorn had studied under. Maybe he was a clone. If that was true, then Luna feared her sister would be in danger. Twilight would be safe. But Celestia would not.   
Luna took a deep breath and opened the gates to her magic. The doorway to the Dreamrealm revealed itself in the waking world by her command. Dreams were her domain. The night was her kingdom, and she would travel it in search of Twilight Sparkle.   
Ω  
(Past, Harmonia)  
ΩSombraΩ  
What in Harmonia was this unicorn thinking, eating my food like that? And how did she get in here? A snarl rose up in my throat like bile. I had had a long night, and that mango was going to make the day’s events tolerable. But, no, this creature was currently eating the last remaining fruit. Now I had to go and buy some more! I really did not want to go all the way to– Water brazenly splashed my face, breaking my concentration on the mango thief. I turned to the source of the water … and became chat drenched in it.   
“You can stop now,” I said as Harmony sprayed me again with water. She was treating me like an ill-tempered housecat. I spluttered as my beautiful face received another round.   
“Are you finished throwing your tantrum?” she asked with one eyebrow raised. “If so, can we please enjoy a civilized conversation? Or are you going to throw another hissy fit? There’s more water in this bottle if that’s the case.” And she was right. She had access to an infinite supply of water. She raised the spray bottle threateningly.   
“I think I’ve got it out of my system. You can put the water down now,” I cajoled her. But Harmony just glared back at me. Water sprayed in my face again. “I’M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH! Why did you do that?!”  
“Just because,” she shrugged. “Now, Mid… well, crap on a stick and call it brown and sticky.”  
I turned back to the doorway and saw a vague outline in my head of where the mango thief used to be. I guessed that she ran. I looked back at Harmony and saw magic flashing in her eyes.   
“Way to go, idiot.”  
Ω   
ΩMidnightΩ  
I’m dead!  
I’m dead!  
I’M SO DEAD!  
And I was going to lose my horn! Where was the front door?! Where?!   
I ran as fast as my hooves could carry me. Damn it! This hallway was unending. Did I pass that statue three minutes ago? I could swear I had seen that painting. What was going on? I kept on running. It was the only thing I knew to do. It didn’t matter now that Sombra was my hero. He was an Alicorn, and all Alicorns were the same. They would kill and ask questions later, or even mutilate anything and everything in their paths. Sombra was like that, too, I thought. He got angry with me for eating one mango. But Harmony was the one who gave it to me! Oh, well, it didn’t matter anyway because I was blowing this joint.   
I ran into a wall of silver. Iron bars wrapped around me, caging me in a silvery cocoon. “Shh, little one, it’s alright. You’re safe. My son was just being an idiot.” Harmony’s voice soothed my anxiety over the situation.   
“I would like to apologize for my actions back there. I was indeed out of line.” The deep bass of Sombra’s voice rumbled through my bones, turning them into goo. How was it fair that my idol had power, celebrity, that gorgeous tail, and such a wonderful voice to top it off? … Wait a minute. Did he just apologize? An Alicorn, no, the Firstborn apologized? To me? I twisted my body to look at him, slack jawed. He was sitting at the end of the hall, completely soaked. His ruby eyes bored into me as I eyed his silhouette.  
“Why are you wet?” I asked in a small voice. Sweet Harmony, those eyes were scary. He was scary. Sombra tilted his head and smiled. *Thump* went the sound of my heart as it stopped for a minute. “It was one of Harmony’s many weird punishments used to keep me in line. Today, she treated me like a cat.” He chuckled. He rose to his hooves, and I skidded backwards. A deep vibration jellied my limbs in a rhythmic hum. I practically lost all thought, but that wouldn’t dissuade me from asking another question.  
“Weird punishments?” I asked. “Cat?”  
“Oh, stop your whining, Sombra,” Harmony’s voice said behind me. “It was not that bad.”  
“Humph,” was his answer. So confusing.  
“So you’re not going to take my horn and kill me?” I asked in a small voice. I looked into Harmony’s face and burrowed further into her side. Cautiously, I leaned back and anxiously awaited the Alicorns’ answer.  
Ω 

 

ΩSombraΩ  
“So you’re not going to take my horn and kill me?” The unicorn’s small voice carried softly to my ears. By Harmony’s ears, could this little unicorn get any cuter? Probably not. She was the smallest unicorn I had ever seen. And what she said just now set ablaze a raging inferno in my heart. Take away her horn? What kind of monster would do that? Oh, that kind of monster.  
“Why would I do that?” I was quite proud that I kept my voice calm and steady because inside I was trembling with rage. Her amethyst eyes shot toward mine, and her answer sparked further ire.  
“Because I made you mad.” So precious.  
Harmony looked down upon her little prisoner. Unshed tears filled her eyes, and she took a steadying breath. “What you are saying,” she started, “is that if you make an alicorn mad, they have the right to take away your horn?”  
“Well,” the little thing said, “not exactly. You see, I’ve had three transfers already. Because of that, I am considered useless to society. Because of that, I must forfeit my horn to the last Alicorn who owned me. And that means you. By law I must give up my horn, and my magic, too, because I am a complete and utter failure and should not be let back into society. I am an outcast.”   
Silence filled the room at her words. I did not know the alicorns’ depravity was so total! Harmony urged the little unicorn closer.  
What was the little pony’s name again? I could memorize the Oracle’s Letters word for word but never managed to remember a single name! How pathetic! How could I… Never mind.   
“By the way,” the little thing’s soft voice carried over the blood rushing in my ears, “what the hell is that vibration? And why does it feel so good? … Why are you both laughing?” Tears streamed down my eyes with the intensity of my laughter. She was so delightful. Her look of confusion became more intense the longer Harmony and I laughed. I finally composed myself, but by then she was irritated.   
“Sorry, Blue, but you are too charming,” I said between bouts of chuckles. She narrowed her eyes.  
“Midnight.”  
“What was that?” I asked.  
“My name is not Blue,” she mumbled. “It is Midnight. Not Ocean, not Icy, not Cornflower Blue. Midnight. Just Midnight.”  
“Ok, Just Midnight, the vibrations are what we call a purr.” I smiled at her stunned countenance. So expressive. I looked at Harmony, finding her body shaking with hardly suppressed laughter.  
“Like a cat?”  
“I suppose that is a decent comparison.”  
“So what you are telling me is that not only do Alicorns have cool powers and great might, they can also purr like a cat?! Excuse me, whose grand idea was this?”  
"It was mine,” Harmony responded.  
“Oops.”  
“No, it is alright, little one,” Harmony said as she examined Bluebell. I was sure I’d get her name someday. “Unfortunately, most of my servants have turned against my children. All because of my opposite.” Her teeth snapped at this. Just mentioning Him turned her eyes red. Little Blue started to struggle. What a little empath we had here.   
“Harmony, Daylight is trying to escape.”  
“Oh!” She snapped out of her moment of anger. “Sorry.”  
“You are mad! I’M LEAVING! I refuse to be an Alicorn’s snack!” Icy shrieked and tried to jump out of Harmony’s bonds. This broke my heart. Her mistrust of my kind was so extensive that she believed even Harmony would harm her. Harmony took a breath and magic shot through her eyes.   
“What happened?” Navy asked, having stopped struggling more rapidly than she expected.   
“I removed your fear of my son and me,” Harmony answered. “Unfortunately, it is only temporary. Now, let’s get to the most important matter at hand. Midnight, you have been assigned to my son Sombra. This is permanent. This means, Sombra, that you cannot get rid of her and that, Midnight, you cannot quit. You are to work together. Sombra, protect her and teach her more magic.” Sapphire’s eyes lit up at the mention of magic. Interesting. “And you, my dear Midnight,” Harmony continued. “I expect you to make sure Sombra becomes sociable and can enter polite company. The Void knows he needs a little more conversation.”  
“Harmony!” Indignation shot through me and out my mouth. But, as per usual, she ignored my comment. Azure tilted her head in question, confusion flickering across her face. “Why does he need me to help him talk to people? Doesn’t he have a lot of Alicorn friends?” Her head swung back and forth between the two of us.   
“NO!” I yelled as Harmony declared at the same time, “Heavens no.”  
Startled, Navy blinked. “Uhh… umm… excuse me?”  
“I can’t stand being around my own kind.” I shuddered at the thought. “Those beasts are disgusting, vulgar, and unspeakably plain…” I looked Harmony in the eyes.   
“Really, Sombra,” harped Harmony. “Are you really going to start singing?”  
“Maybe.”  
“Don’t.”  
“What?” squeaked Cerulean.  
I smiled the wickedest smile I could muster and began my tune. “I know that your powers of retention are wet as a warthog’s backside. But thick as you are, pay attention! My words are matter of pride…”  
Ω   
ΩMidnightΩ  
What was going on?  
I was so confused. Beyond confused. This singing goofball was supposed to be the Great Firstborn? Not to complain - his voice was fantastic. His voice melted like a fountain of the purest dark cocoa into my receptive ears. My hooves started tapping along to his song. I had absolutely no idea what he was singing, but it sounded glorious.  
“It’s clear from your vacant expression,” he sang as he waved his hoof in front of an unimpressed Harmony’s face, “that the lights are not all on upstairs. But we're talking kings and successions! Even you can't be caught unawares.” Then he started, I don’t know, stalking? Prancing? – around the hall in dramatic fashion with the next line. “Be prepared for a chance of a lifetime. Be prepared for sensational news!” He sat down, head falling back, and rolled his shoulders, his hoof gracefully sliding across his chest before easing him up onto his hooves.  
“A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer.” Sombra literally started to tiptoe on all fours around us. I heard somepony say, ‘And where do we feature?’ behind me, scaring the crap out of me in the process. Sombra continued to sing, “Just listen to teacher. I know it sounds sordid, but you’ll be rewarded when at last I am given my due...”  
I crawled over to Harmony’s side and whispered, “What the hay is he doing?” The Benevolent Creator looked me square in the eyes and said, “He’s trying his best to distract you and me. Between the two of us, it worked on one. And it was not I. Real mature, boy. Real mature.”  
“And injustice deliciously square. BE PREPARED!” he sang, his wings spreading out with dramatic flair. Ooh so pretty! Sombra looked at Harmony expectantly. She shook her head. Then, the strangest thing happened. Sombra sat pretty, wings folded tightly behind his back, head bent down and bottom lip jutting out like I had heard the werewolves sometimes did. “Please?” he begged in a high-pitched voice, “Pretty please?” And he batted his eyelashes. But Harmony was not giving way. “Huff, you are no fun, Harmony,” he sulked.   
“You’re trying to distract me, and it is not going to work.” Harmony narrowed her eyes, and that crazy lunatic just smiled at her. What was wrong with this pony? One minute he was truly angry and ready to kill me, then the next he was gentle and sympathetic. Now he was singing and dancing to a song that I didn’t know. Speaking of… “What were you singing?”   
Ω  
ΩSombraΩ  
“What were you singing?” Blueberry asked, tilting her head to the side. Before I could utter a word Harmony chirped, “It’s called ‘Be Prepared,’ and it’s a piece from a picture show in another dimension called ‘The Lion King.’”  
“Dimension?” Picture show?  
“YES!” Harmony exclaimed. “Sombra made a mirror that can peer into alternate dimensions! It’s fantastic! I’m so proud of him. Making his own spells and whatnot.” She got a dreamy look on her face. Well, my plan had worked after all. Harmony was now distracted from the execution of her plan. All I had needed to do was sing. How would I get Harmony and the little blue one out of my house? There’s got to be… Oh I know!  
“Harmony, I am led to believe that Caerulean…” I started to say.  
“Midnight! My name is Midnight!”  
“Right. Lapis is probably quite hungry, and I do not think that mango filled her up. What about the café that you always take me to? You could take her, and I could stay here to make sure the house doesn’t burn down. What do you say?”   
“No.”  
Wait, what? “Why not?” Bewilderment coursed through me. I thought this tack might work. Harmony let a look of disappointment cross her face and linger for a while. “Why not? Because, Sombra, that is not consistent with my plan. And you will not deviate from my plan, boy!” her voice rumbled and shook the ground beneath my hooves. At this moment, I was reminded once again that when Harmony had an idea she would not be dissuaded, and there was power in her voice.  
“But…” I started to argue before thinking better of it. Harmony would not be dissuaded from her goal, but she could be persuaded to turn me into one of my beloved mangos if I gave her reason.  
“But what, boy? Speak up, if you have the courage,” Harmony said with a hint of a laughing sneer in her voice. I did not like that tone. A hard glint shone in her multifaceted eyes. Oh, sweet Heavens, please help me! She had the Look in her eyes!   
“And if I do?” Shut up, Sombra, you did not want to be turned into a toad! “What are you going do about it?”  
“Nothing,” hope flared up in my chest, “for now.” Well, that hope came and went quickly. “I will deal with your attitude later. As of right now you have a new housemate. So, go show that hospitality that I drilled in your head for the past three hundred years. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to make sure you two do not escape. Oh, and I have to go fix some alicorn problems.”   
“WAIT!!” But she was already gone. Blast it! Now what? I looked at the tiny blue thing who was now my responsibility. Well, I guessed I must show her to her room.   
“Well, if you would please follow me,” I requested, “I will show you to your room.” I started down the hall. I heard a little patter of hooves trailing behind me. Smiling to myself, I continued down the hall.   
“So, Blue, what is your favorite color?” I asked her.   
“I’m not your color palette! Call me by a shade of blue again, and I’ll cut your mane and tail off and make them into a bed!” she yelled indignantly.  
“Okay, but you still have not answered my question.”   
“Not pink.”  
“But what IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?!”  
“NOT PINK!”  
“I KNOW THAT! WHAT I NEED TO KNOW IS WHAT YOUR FAVORITE COLOR IS SO I CAN FIND THE ROOM BEST SUITED FOR YOU!”   
“Well you don’t have to yell. I’m just saying that I don’t like pink. I could care less what color the room is, as long as it is not pink,” Midnight stated.   
“I was not yelling,” I grumbled as I led her to the canary room. This pony was going to send me to the Void. I became less sure with each passing minute that I could not become Discord-touched. What was Harmony thinking! We were not going to survive this week! Finally, we made it to the canary room’s door. Maybe if I locked her in this room, I could get some peace and quiet.  
“Here you go, Cornflower,” I said as I opened the door. I looked back when I noticed that she was not moving. “What?”  
“You called me Cornflower,” she growled as a pair of shears appeared above her head, “I don’t make idle threats.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ZaphodBeeblebrox has entered the chat*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote:* I still prefer Jeremy Irons as Scar in 'Be Prepared.' My opinion will not be swayed.  
> *The_white_stone has entered the chat*  
> *The_white_stone could not be bothered to respond*  
> *TheWitMiser has entered the chat*  
> *TheWitMiser nodded in agreement with ZaphodBeeblebrox, but this could not be shown in chat*  
> *The_white_stone has disinherited her editor and beta reader*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote:* You realize I could easily misspell anything while editing, and you would have no idea.  
> *The_white_stone has reinstated her editor*  
> *TheWitMiser looked at The_white_stone. It was super effective*  
> *TheWitMiser has been reinstated as beta reader*  
> *TheWitMiser nodded in approval*  
> *TheWitMiser has left the chat*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox nodded in approval and corrected her intentional typos*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox has left the chat*  
> *The_white_stone looked at the above notifications and cringed*  
> *The_white_stone has left the chat*
> 
> P.s. I have no control of the chat box. My editor hijacks this portion of the story. Well, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a nice or constructive comment! Thanks for reading!


	10. A Magical Experience (Immaturity at Its Best)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, for a 'tail' of immaturity, bad dye jobs, and teleportation! Enjoy!
> 
> -P.s. ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote this note

A Magical Experience (Immaturity at Its Best)  
(Present, Canterlot)  
Rainbow Dash walked down the hallways of the Castle of Canterlot in a daze. She kept replaying the events of Twilight’s disappearance over and over again in her head. What she could have done better. What steps she could have taken to help prevent this. But in the end, it didn’t matter. Twilight was gone, and Dash still had no answers regarding her friend’s fate. At least Princess Celestia could shine some light on it. That was what this meeting was about, right?  
“Welcome, Rainbow Dash. I am happy to see that you are well,” Princess Celestia said as Dash entered the throne room. Dash bowed to Princess Celestia in greeting. “Thank you, Princess Celestia, my recovery was quite speedy because of you. But I didn’t come to play nice. I came so I could find out what happened to Twilight! I want to know what happened to ME! Please, Princess Celestia, if you…”  
“Dash,” interrupted Princess Celestia. “all in good time. Let’s wait for the rest of your friends. I would bet they also want to know what happened to you, Spike, and Twilight. So be at peace.”  
“Yeah you’re right.”  
“Of course, I am. Now, would you care for some cake?” Princess Celestia directed Rainbow Dash’s attention towards the table. One thing Dash could count on was Princess Celestia’s cake table. It was always filled with the best cakes in Equestria. Ranging from haycakes to fruity cakes to Pinky Pie’s crazy cakes, every single kind of delicious cake was there. Speaking of Pinky Pie, Dash found her shoved face first in a gigantic frosted cake.   
“Mmm… strawberry!” exclaimed Pinky Pie as she came up for a breath. Once she licked her lips clean, she dove right back into the cake. Pinky Pie wiggled her backside, digging herself even further into the now less appealing cake. Dash rolled her eyes at the pink pony’s antics. Trust Pinky to show absolutely no decorum even in this situation.  
“When did Pinky Pie show up?” Dash asked as she trotted over to the apple fritters. She was hoping for some apple cider, but she doubted there would be any. Princess Celestia was trying her hardest to get Dash to quit it. But Dash really needed a cup right about now with the week she’d had. But apple fritters would have to do. Damn. Grabbing the pastry, Dash sat down and waited for the rest of her friends.   
The doors slammed opened with a crash. Rarity galloped into the room.   
“Welcome, Rarity, please…” Princess Celestia began, but Rarity ran up and grabbed Princess Celestia’s legs, crying, “Please tell me you have found her! Please, I need good news! I have been sitting on pins and needles all week! Is Dashy ok? Is Spikey-wikey…”  
“Shh… shh…” Princess Celestia whispered as she pulled a bawling Rarity into a comforting embrace. Dash dropped her dessert and galloped towards her distraught friend.   
“Rarity, Rarity, I’m right here. I’m ok,” she comforted the hysterical white pony. “We’re just waiting for Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy now so we can get more information. Is that alright?”  
“I-is Tw-Twilight still missing?” blubbered Rarity.   
“Unfortunately, yes,” answered Princess Celestia, “and that is why I have gathered you all here. Welcome, Spike. Welcome, Applejack. And welcome, Fluttershy. Now that everypony is here, I have important news regarding Twilight and her disappearance.”  
Pinky Pie, still covered in cake, galloped to her gathered friends. Dash made her way to a now fully healed Spike and sat down. She couldn’t even tell that just a week ago he had been covered in third degree burns. She was glad that Princess Celestia had time to heal him, too.   
Princess Celestia took a breath, “The one who kidnapped Twilight was Sombra.”  
“WHAT!!” they cried in unison.  
“As in King Sombra?” asked Applejack.  
“No, that was his clone. The Sombra I am talking about is an alicorn like me. But unlike me, he was the Firstborn. As in, the first created being in existence. And he believes that Twilight is the reincarnation of his late mate Midnight Star. I want to find her before he can implant Midnight’s memories into Twilight’s mind. Now, what I am about to share with you is a history long buried in the depths of earth.”  
In a billowing cloud of night, Princess Luna arrived at the middle of the circle, facing Princess Celestia.  
“Sister!” Princess Celestia exclaimed in surprise. “What is wrong?”  
Princess Luna shook her head, looked at Princess Celestia, and proclaimed, “Midnight the Ethereal is rising, and when she awakes, Sister, she will have her revenge!”  
Ω  
ΩSombraΩ  
“Sombra! Midnight! I am home!” Harmony sang as she tromped down the hall. I really was not in the mood today. “Where is everypony? Midnight? Somb…. Bahahahahahahaha!!! What happened to you, boy?” guffawed Harmony as she entered my study. “Three days I’m gone, and you decide to get a mane and tail cut? Sombra, sweetie, why did you cut it all off?” Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to calm down and stop laughing. She was not helping the situation. I bared my teeth at her in annoyance.   
“It was your assistant’s fault! Last night she came into my room and CUT IT ALL OFF!” I yelled in frustration. Harmony looked at me for a second and then laughed even harder. She was in tears and on the floor, hooting and hollering into her hoof. “Midnight Star?” she asked through ragged breaths that were hardly able to fill her lungs. She really needed one of those paper bags. “That little blue pony that I brought here did this? This is rich! This is absolute… hilarity! This is a story… I am going to tell my grandchildren… about. ‘Come, kiddos! Want to hear the story… of how your mother… shaved your father’s… head and tail?’ They’ll love it! HAHAHA!!” She lost control and plummeted into another fit of giggles. So, I stepped over my hysterics-ridden silver Creator and trod over to the kitchen. I had to find another new hiding place for my mangos because the blue terror kept finding them and eating them all. It would not have been so awful had she left me any, but the little terror refused me even the slightest joy. How cruel! Then she lopped off my only pride and joy. My glorious mane had taken me a full century to grow out! And now, thanks to this pony, I MUST WAIT ANOTHER HUNDRED YEARS TO GROW OUT MY BEAUTIFUL LONG MANE! Oh, the equinity!  
Grumbling to myself, I fished out one perfect mango and bit into it eagerly yet angrily. As I munched on my perfectly ripe, juicy mango, my anger slowly tapering off, Harmony walked into the kitchen, wiping the tears from her now blood-shot eyes. She was still shivering from laughter. Ahh… that mare… both mares… I am going to strangle them!   
“So, how did she do it?” Harmony asked with renewed laughter as she walked around the kitchen.   
“I do not wish to discuss it,” I grumbled between bites. “Besides, you still have blood on your lips.” I pointed at her face. Harmony looked alarmed. She bolted to the cloth drawer and pulled out one my clean cloths. Then she dashed over to the sink. Pumping water onto the cloth, she frequently looked back toward the kitchen door.   
“She is not coming. She is locked in her room. Finally.” Listening to me, Harmony had still been cleaning her mouth. She stopped and glared at me.   
“Why?”  
I just pointed to my head.   
“Fair point. But…”  
“And I made her talk backwards for shaving my head,” I added stoically. “So, I see the hunt was successful. You got back those pieces of your soul, correct?”  
She narrowed her eyes. “Stop trying to change the subject, boy. Yes, I retrieved those pieces of my soul from those alicorns. I ate them! How else did you think I would get them back? Now, enough about me. You made her talk backwards?”  
“Yes.”  
“Was this before or after you locked her in her room?”  
“After.”  
“Which room?”  
“Canary.”  
“I’ll be back.”  
Having said that, she stomped off.   
Well. I am in trouble.

 

Ω  
ΩMidnightΩ  
“Pleh! I ma kcuts ni ereh! A yzarc nrocilA dekcol em ni ereh!” I yelled sitting on the annoyingly comfortable bed. As of today, canary yellow was on color hate list, along with pink. It got the pink slip. Get it? I wanted out of here. I’d been cooped up in this awfully beautiful hole for two hours! I’M GOING INSANE! I’m flying out of the cuckoo’s nest, and that crazy Alicorn made me talk backwards. I had no idea how he did it, and boy did I want to know how! What kind of spell did he use? Did the magic come out of his gut? I had to know! After I got out of here and hit him with a flippin’ frying pan.  
The doorknob rattled and finally started to turn with … silvery magic! I jumped off the nest I had made with Sombra’s mane and tail and ran to the door. Harmony walked through the door. Not the door opening. The door. Wow, could she ever become prettier than she is now? For some reason, today she had a golden halo around her.   
“So this what you did to his mane and tail. Love the pattern. Did you knit or crochet?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.   
“Tehcorc!” I said confidently before I remembered that I talked backwards now. My confidence flew out the window, trailing behind my sanity. Harmony’s lips started to twitch. “S’ti ton ynnuf!” I shouted, stomping my hooves in agitation. I was so going to get him back for this. As soon as I learned how. Wasn’t he supposed to teach me magic? All he did for the past three days was run away from me. Well, then again, I was hunting him down for his mane and tail, so… I guess, yeah. I’m a bad pony. Oh, well.   
“’Tis, but it is, my child,” Harmony said, suddenly using a goofy accent. “For what is a mare who talketh backwards? A senseless mare who did not heed her elder’s warning.” Her laughter filled the room. Well, at least one of us found this funny, I thought under my breath. I just sat with my head tilted to the side and waited until she stopped. Goodness knows I loved hearing her laughter, but this was getting ridiculous and all kinds of out-of-whack. How long was she going to keep laughing?   
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but I find this situation you both found yourselves in… is absolutely hilarious!” She said this wiping tears from her eyes. “Now let us get down to business.” Colors flashed in her eyes. I heard a ‘Boo yeah, baby! I’M BEAUTIFUL! YOU GORGEOUS HUNK O’ PRIME STALLION!’ in the distance. Harmony rolled her eyes. Then her gaze fell on me. Uhh… that was a heavy stare. Um… help me!   
Colors flashed in her eyes again, and those colors chased me. They would not stop following me, chasing me around the room! And Harmony did not help the situation. She just stood there. Why? Then the colors caught me, and a rainbow filled my eyes.   
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” I screeched. Wait… “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick. I can speak right again! And better than usual, I might add. I’m going rub it in Sombra’s face!”  
“Wait!”   
But I didn’t wait. I ran down the hallway, screaming at the top of lungs, “SOMBRA!” I opened every door until I finally found him in the kitchen, eating a mango. I ran up to him, jumped and bit into the mango. He narrowed his eyes. I have made mistakes before, and this was one. Then, he started to shake his head while I was attached to the mango! That’s when I learned that HE IS INSANE!   
“Children! Little foals, behave!” Harmony screeched. Wow. Sombra stopped suddenly. Luckily, I stayed on. Or maybe not. I took my bite and fell to the floor. I scrambled to my hooves, regret and shame flooding my veins as I looked in Harmony’s direction. If looks could kill, I’d definitely be in one of those mass graves outside of town.   
“Sombra! Is this how the Firstborn acts? And Midnight! I thought you were an adult! If you are an adult, then act like one!”   
“But, I don’t wanna adult today…”  
Ω  
ΩSombraΩ  
“Ohhh… you should not have said that,” I mumbled under my breath. Based on my experience, I should have known that. It had never ended well. Harmony’s lips tightened into a straight line. Then she looked at me, as if I had had anything to do with what Midnight (was that the correct name?) was saying. She mouthed - What am I to do with the two of you? I just shrugged.   
“I have an idea,” I said.  
“If your idea is about her leaving and you staying home all by yourself,” she growled, “then forget about it.” Well she did not need to be rude. Then again she was hanging by her last rope. She obviously was entirely through with our ‘batcrap’.  
“Midnight, I don’t think it’s working,” I whispered in her ear.   
“Really? What gave you that idea?” she deadpanned. “And for your information, I actually have no idea what the hay you are talking about. What exactly is not working?”  
“I am talking to children!” screeched Harmony, throwing her wings into the air. “You know what? I will think up a proper punishment for that comment at a later time. I am still on the hunt, and I simply do not have time right now. I came to check up on you two, and I will see you in a month. Sombra, for the last time, teach her magic! Now, if you will excuse me.” With that she poofed. She poofed into a glittery cloud. I sputtered as the glitter infected my mouth with the awful taste of art. Tasted retched, the glitter did. I turned to Midnight and said, “Well, Miss Star, are you ready to properly learn magic?”   
“I have so many questions,” she said as she looked at me. “But yeah, let’s get started.”  
Famous last words of a fool.  
ΩTwo Weeks LaterΩ  
“I distinctly remember that I told you to change the rabbit’s fur, not mine,” I said as I looked in the mirror. “I thought you hated pink.”  
“I do! And I’m sorry! In my defense, the rabbit jumped behind you just as I was casting the spell,” Midnight replied. “However, pink does look good on you.”  
“Quite,” I grumbled. “Now I would like you to cast the exact same spell. This time, instead of changing the rabbit’s fur, I would like you to change my fur back. Got it?”  
“Aye, aye, Captain, sir,” she said with a mock salute. “Now, do you want red fur with black highlights or black fur with red highlights? Pick now or forever hold your peace.”  
“Black with red highlights,” I answered.  
“Red with black it is!”  
“WAIT, NO! UGH… That was not the right color. Now I am green, Midnight. Try again. … Now I am brown. Purple. Yellow. Blue. Periwinkle. Really, Midnight? Mustard. Pumpernickel. Gray…”  
ΩThree Weeks LaterΩ  
ΩMidnightΩ  
“This so hard,” I whined as I attempted a complicated floatation spell. The goal, according to Sombra, was to make an object float for more than two minutes. And the sick, demented wild stallion decided that I would cast the spell on him. We’d been working on this spell for the past three hours! I’M HUNGRY, YOU MONSTER!  
“Again,” the demonic slave-driver commanded, for the hundredth time. “Remember, we are not finished until you complete the spell correctly, or until the fourth hour mark has been reached. Now try again, Miss Star.”  
“’Again, Miss Star, again,’” I back-talked. “I’ll show you again, Sir.” I cast a spell, I really did. It just wasn’t the spell he wanted. I hoped he would tumble into a lake, or something equally funny. Now he was gone and I was going to get some food. Teleporting other ponies was fun!  
ΩOne Month LaterΩ  
ΩSombraΩ  
Today was the day. The day I would show Midnight her library. Harmony, I hoped she could read. Otherwise this would be very awkward. I walked up the stairs with Midnight trailing behind me. She refused to be quiet, always asking what the surprise was. With anypony else I would have been beyond mere annoyance, but this was the way of Midnight. She was always trying to find new ways to irk me. Unfortunately for her, I found her antics quite charming. Somehow. I honestly could not remember when that change occurred.   
“Here we are,” I announced as I conjured up the key. “You may stop with the questioning now. Are you ready?”  
“Yes, please,” she bounced. So cute.  
I smiled down upon her. Who would have thought that this little thing could make me smile? What would I do without her? Suffer through the tedium, I suppose. I unlocked and opened the door, and the look on her face was worth every second I had spent cleaning this room. I did not know why it was a mess, but a mess it had been. And Harmony would answer for it. Once she returned.   
“OH, MY SWEET HARMONY! BOOKS!” screeched Midnight in the quaint little cry of a teenaged banshee. What a charmer she was. She took off into the room like a lightning bolt. Well, I suppose I got something right. I patted myself on the back with a puff of magic. The mare was acting like a young filly in a candy apple store. Bouncing between books, she squealed and squealed. It was the cutest thing I had seen all day. I started laughing outright when she began a ridiculous dance.  
“Shut up! This is best thing ever!” she exclaimed. “It almost makes up for you taking away my ability to curse.”  
“You still prattling on about that?”  
“Yes.”  
“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that this library is yours.” I waved my wings around the room. Her eyes lit up with joy. Then she launched herself at me.   
“Thank you!”  
“Oof! You’re welcome.”  
ΩTwo Days LaterΩ  
ΩMidnightΩ  
“’Go get some mangos,’ he said. ‘It’s your turn,’ he said,” I grumbled, pulling on my pack, “What am I, his personal shopper? I want to stay in my library!”   
I shouted this out at Mister I-didn’t-get-my-mangos-today-so-you-should-buy-some Grumpy Pants and stepped outside. Sombra really detested when I tried to teleport from inside the house. Something about stains on the carpet or something similar. I couldn’t tell what he was prattling on about. But I had to listen to boss.  
Humming, I teleported to the market on the Mane. It was such a lovely day outside. And the best part was that mangos were on sale today. Score! A couple dozen mangos later, I was ready to go. Oof… dang brick wall. Who decided to put… one… there… Oh, no…  
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A little unicorn breaking our laws and teleporting at will. Say, what do we do to law breakers again? Oh, that’s right - we eat them!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ZaphodBeeblebrox has entered the chat*  
> *The_white_stone has entered the chat*  
> *The_white_stone wrote:* What did you think about the library thing? I thought it was very Beauty and the Beast-y.  
> *TheWitMiser has entered the chat*  
> *TheWitMiser wrote:* Hm.  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox song-wrote:* Tails as old as miiine.  
> *The_white_stone wrote:* Oh, no...  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote:* Only Sombra could it be. Shocked, truly amazed, finding Midnight changed unexpectedly.  
> *TheWitMiser cringed but accepted the unpleasant turn of events*  
> *ZaphodBeeblebrox wrote:* Wonderful, divine; I'm handsome and strong. Midnight's such a dear, now that it's been made clear that Midnight was wrong. Sombra and the Beeeast.  
> *The_white_stone reconsidered whether ZaphodBeeblebrox is really necessary. After putting out some feelers, The_white_stone has realized ZaphodBeeblebrox is the only free editor available. Resigned, The_white_stone has accepted her fate*  
> *TheWitMiser, The_white_stone, and ZaphodBeeblebrox have left the chat*
> 
> ZaphodBeeblebrox wishes to thank you all for reading The_white_stone's chapters! It takes a good bit of work for our author to write each one, and it's so much fun to read the uploads even before my little bit of editing! Leave all the comments and kudos for The_white_stone, and you may make it into the group chat at the end notes!

**Author's Note:**

> Interested in this story? Please leave a comment, and I'll pick it up as I leave the house. If I ever do leave the house.


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